


Beyond the Water's Reflection

by softwhiskeyjack



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Children-centric, Family Feels, Fix-It of Sorts, Fluff, Gen, Main POVs are Shinonome and Siegbert, Multi, Other, Past Camilla/Lazward, Past Elise/Odin, Past Hinoka/Tsubaki, Past Male Kamui/Aqua, Past Relationship(s), Past Sakura/Asama, Some politics, future pairings undecided, past pairings aren't too important though, slow burn relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-27
Updated: 2017-05-21
Packaged: 2018-05-29 10:12:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 39,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6370774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/softwhiskeyjack/pseuds/softwhiskeyjack
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They were children of desolation. Inheriting their parents’ legacies and broken world, they tried to defeat the monstrous evil behind this devastation; but they failed and were sent plummeting into the Bottomless Canyon to die.</p><p>However, what awaited them wasn’t death but a world not unlike their own… yet so very different. Separated, and on the wrong sides, perhaps these children will have a second chance at saving a world and at happiness.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was inspired by [if Hitori Omou feat. Shigure](http://dekodomo.tumblr.com/post/141529989890/the-final-battle-music-from-the-last-map-of-the) because MY CHILDREN FEELS and AmaLee's [Lost in Thoughts All Alone](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsz5ijRQvUY) because that Nohr drum jam gives me life.

**PROLOGUE.**

Falling.

_“I’ve got you, Shinonome! Just hang on!”_

_“Let go, Siegbert! At this rate you’re going to fall too!”_

_“No! I won’t let you die!”_

He was falling.

_Craggy rocks stretched endlessly above him as he fell down, and down, and down._

_The wind roared past his ears._

_There was a whisper of a voice though. Barely distinguishable, but he was definitely hearing words in the wind._

_“Free… me… You must… eak… nd end… cle…!!”_

He fell.

**ACT I.**

Shinonome awoke with a gasp, his body jerking as he fought against the disorienting sensation of not knowing up from down.

The only thing he could see was an expanse of dark grey and, for a second, he thought he was still in that canyon plummeting to his death, before he realized that the grey was just the sky. Besides, the ground that he just dug his fingers into proved that he wasn’t falling anymore.

Was he… dead? If so, this certainly wasn’t the afterlife that he was hoping he would arrive at. He expected there to be more fanfare. Maybe a party or two and his parents waiting for him with proud smiles. Not this… silence.

… silence?

Shinonome pulled himself up from his position on the ground, although he could only manage to bring himself to sit up as his limbs trembled wildly at the exertion, and looked around. He seemed to be alone in a forest clearing and the thought of that stuck out at him wrongly. He shouldn’t have been alone.

He had been… falling? And there had been someone with him. Shinonome gripped his head, wondering why it was so hard to remember. But then his eyes caught on a flash of gold beside him. It was a blade. A familiar blade. A very familiar blade that was impossibly missing its owner.

“Siegbert…” Shinonome threw himself to his feet, alarm surging. “Siegbert!?”

Vertigo swamped him immediately though and he collapsed to his knees, dry heaving onto the grass. Darkness edged into his vision but he stubbornly fought it back and forced himself to get back onto his feet. Taking care not to swing his head around wildly this time, Shinonome looked at his surroundings.

Nothing. As impossible as it was, it seemed like he really was alone and that Siegfried, the sword, was missing its owner. Shit.

Okay, he just had to think this through. Take it in steps. First, he needed to know where he was. Second, he needed to find Siegbert. Third, as far as he could remember, everyone that he knew had been at that final battle so he needed to see if he could find anyone else. Fourth, he _really_ needed to find Siegbert.

He swallowed past a suddenly dry mouth and bent down to cautiously pick up Siegfried. “You’re not going to… burn me or something, are you?”

The sword did not respond. But it also didn’t turn him into a charred lump, so he counted that as a positive.

“Look, I know I’m probably the last person you want holding you. Me being a Hoshidan Prince, you belonging to a Nohrian Prince, and our countries being mortal enemies in the past and all that. But I can’t just leave you here and you’re my only connection to my friend, so we’re just going to have to put up with each other. Deal?”

There was still no response, but he hadn’t been expecting one anyway. It felt good to voice things out like that though. It made him feel less alone and like he had an actual grip on the situation.

A groan suddenly echoed through the clearing.

Shinonome stiffened, his hand immediately tightening on the handle of Siegfried. He really, really didn’t want to fight a horde of Faceless and undead right now. At any other time, he might have relished in the challenge of fighting alone but right now he still felt shaky and like he was going to collapse at any second.

The seconds slid by. He couldn’t hear any underbrush being trampled though, and there was no stench of the undead. In fact, he would have thought that he had just imagined the noise until it occurred again, accompanied by some rustling in the bushes nearby. It was coming from the edge of the clearing.

Shinonome approached the bush slowly. His wariness disappeared quickly underneath a surge of relief when he recognized the half-conscious person in the bushes though.

“Foleo! Are you okay?”

He pulled the younger boy out of the bushes and checked him over. Fortunately, even though he was covered in scrapes and scratches it looked like they were only superficial wounds.

“Sh… Shino… nome?” Foleo groaned out, blinking his unfocused eyes.

“Yeah, it’s me. You don’t seem to be seriously injured but can you stand? Or heal yourself?”

Shinonome was worried when the other boy just stared at him dazedly, but then Foleo shook his head and gritted his teeth as he moved his hand up to his head. A light glow covered his hand and, within seconds, the pained furrow in his brows disappeared and his wounds closed.

“Damn, that’s so handy.”

A tired laugh escaped out of Foleo before he looked Shinonome over. “Do you need any healing?”

“No, I’m good, thanks. Save your energy for the others.”

And what a relief it was to be able to say that. Now that he had found Foleo, Shinonome was feeling much more confident in believing that the others were here as well. Wherever this place was. He just needed to seek them out.

“By the way, do you remember anything of what happened before? And where we are?” Shinonome asked. His own memories were still hazy; all he could remember was a towering shadow, thousands of glowing eyes, and then falling.

Foleo narrowed his eyes in thought. “I… remember we were fighting on top of the Bottomless Canyon. You were knocked off the cliff and Siegbert immediately leapt after you. We tried to cover his back and buy him time but… I think the cliff was destroyed? We must have fallen into the canyon as well but…”

“… But?”

Foleo winced, gripping his head. “I’m sorry. I’m afraid I can’t seem to remember anything after that. And as for where we are… I have no idea.”

Shinonome shook his head and clasped Foleo’s shoulder with a hand after noticing that the other boy looked worried. “Don’t sweat it. The most important thing is that we seem to be safe… for now. We’ll figure out the rest somehow.”

Foleo gave him a weak smile; but then his eyes landed on the blade that Shinonome was carrying and widened, “… Is that Siegfried?”

Shinonome glanced down at it and winced, “Yeah, it is. I found it beside me when I woke in this clearing. I’m hoping to find Siegbert soon so I can return this. I really don’t fancy being struck down by the Nohrian gods for defiling their legendary weapon.”

“I’d love to be able to tell you that there is no way that would happen, but I don’t think there’s ever been a point in history where Siegfried was wielded by anyone other than the Crown Prince or King of Nohr.”

“Great. I feel like I’m carrying an explosive with a very short wick then. Which means that we should really get going to find the others.”

“Wait!” Foleo unclasped his short mantle before offering it to Shinonome.

Shinonome shot him a questioning look, “Uh…”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to walk around carrying Siegfried like that. We should at least cover it up.”

“Oh, that’s a great idea! Thanks, Foleo!” Shinonome stood up and reached out to take the mantle but paused, “… are you sure it’s okay?”

Everyone in their group knew how much Foleo treasured his clothing and the time he spent sewing them.

“I can always make another one.” Foleo gave him a small smile, “What’s important is our safety, right? Carrying Siegfried around like that is not safe.”

“… Thanks again.” Shinonome murmured before he finally took the cloth and proceeded to wrap Siegfried in it.

It really was a good idea to hide the legendary blade. But as he looked at the finished product - the finished _frilly_ product - he felt like he was hastening his own death by the Nohrian gods.

“Sorry, buddy, but you’re going to have to endure this until I get a proper sheath.” Shinonome whispered quietly to the blade before standing up and sliding it into his sash. It sat awkward and clunky, but there wasn’t any other way for him to carry it. He turned to Foleo, “Right, I suppose we should get going then?”

Foleo clambered to his feet as well and nodded. “Which way should we go?”

Shinonome looked up at the sky, frowning when he noticed that it was still an overcast grey sky. He couldn’t see any sign of the sun at all, which made it hard for him to choose a direction.

But, suddenly, a roar tore through the forest. A very familiar roar. A dragon’s roar.

Shinonome and Foleo exchanged looks. That had to be Kanna!


	2. Chapter 2

**ACT II.**

Siegbert woke up drowning.

His body convulsed as he choked and he felt someone grab his shoulder and turn him to the side before hitting his back hard. He heaved, throwing up water and stomach acid. There was nothing else in his stomach because he couldn’t even remember the last time he’d eaten.

“Oh gross!” The voice came from a young boy.

“Very princely.” An amused female this time.

Coughing hard enough to make his eyes water, Siegbert shook off whoever was holding him and sat up. His throat burned and his head was spinning but he forced himself to take in his immediate surroundings.

Lutz was beside him, the young boy alternating between looking at him in worry and wrinkling his nose at the mess on the ground. Soleil, his cousin, was the female who had spoken and she was beside Lutz; when he met her eyes she gave him an exhausted smile. Behind them he could see an endless field of plains and a startlingly clear blue sky, which struck him as being wrong. There hadn’t been any blue skies for a long time, only a world in black and red.

“Wh… Where are we? What… happened?” Each word felt like it was covered in thorns as it passed through his throat, but Siegbert managed to spit them out.

“No idea! But it sure is pretty and a darn better sight than that gloomy canyon we were at!” Lutz chirped.

Soleil fished out her waterskin and passed it to Siegbert as she spoke, “What he said. Kisaragi is out scouting but hopefully he’ll be back soon to let us know where we are and what’s around us. As for what happened…”

Siegbert, who had accepted the waterskin with a nod of thanks, noted how Soleil and Lutz exchanged looks. He quickly rinsed his mouth with the water and drank the rest before speaking in a more normal voice, “Go on.”

Soleil frowned, startling Siegbert who could almost count on one hand the amount of times he’s seen her make that expression. “We were fighting on top of the Bottomless Canyon and Shinonome was knocked into it. You jumped after him like an idiot, so we all grouped to guard your back but it made us an easy target. Most of us were hit before the section of the cliff we were standing on was destroyed, making us all fall. Next thing we know, we’re here.”

Siegbert’s eyes widened progressively at her words before, finally, her appearance registered to him. Soleil, who was fastidious about being pristine, was covered in dirt, sweat, and blood. Her left arm was hanging limply by her side and he could tell immediately that it was broken.

His voice was faint, “By the Dusk… Soleil, your arm…”

She laughed, forcing a measure of cheer into her voice, “It’s just a broken arm. I got off lucky compared to the others.”

“The others…?”

Her eyes slid past him and he turned around to see himself looking at a nightmare.

Ophelia, Ignis, Eponine, and Sophie were lying on the ground, unconscious. Each one was covered in various wounds and were it not for the shallow rise and fall of their chests, he would have thought them all dead.

Siegbert lunged to his feet, staggering wildly as a surge of vertigo struck him. His gorge rose and he fought the urge to bend over and heave. He could hear Lutz clambering to his feet beside him and then grab at him, which he struggled to throw off.

“Hold up, Siegbert! You’re going to make yourself feel worse like that!”

Soleil rose to her feet as well, “Calm down, Siegbert! They’ll be fine. Dwyer already took a look at them and they’re stable.” The 'for now’ was left out but he could hear it.

Siegbert cast his eyes about for the darkly garbed male, but when he found him his breath caught in his chest. Dwyer wasn’t a short man by any means but beside Velour’s beast form he was a small shape. He was kneeling beside the large white canine, who could have been mistaken for being a red one with the amount of blood matting her fur.

“She took the brunt of the blow for everyone… before we fell,” Soleil murmured. She came up beside him to rest a hand on his arm. “Without her we might have…”

He didn’t need her to finish the rest of the sentence. Without Velour, those four unconscious friends would surely be dead and they might have joined them in death as well. He clenched his hands into fists.

“Is she going to make it?”

“Dwyer said she was! He said he wasn’t going to let this dumb dog die on him,” Lutz told him.

Siegbert wanted to be like Lutz. He wanted to have an unshakable belief and trust in Dwyer’s skills too but he’d learned very early about how cruel the world could be. He made himself turn to Soleil.

She met his eyes as she answered, “Dwyer did say that but he’s at his limits, especially after treating you and the others. He told Kisaragi to keep an eye out for some herbs while he was scouting but I don’t know if those will be enough. I think we need another healer.”

He could see the strain in Dwyer even from here. The other boy’s face was pale and haggard; the glow of his magic flickered like a candle, apt to disappear at any moment.

Terror was clawing up from within Siegbert and threatening to strangle his mind, but he couldn’t let it. He couldn’t let himself freeze up now when his friends were in this desperate situation and depending on him. He could feel the weight of Lutz and Soleil’s unsaid expectations.

He would lead them, right? He would get them out of this situation, right?

Seigbert exhaled slowly and focused on the beating of his own heart. _One-two. Three-four._ He would. _One-two. Three-four._ Absolutely. _One-two. Three-four._ As long as his heart continued to beat he would, as the First Prince of Nohr, do anything to prevent another person from dying in front of him.

He spoke only when he knew that his voice would come out level, “We need to wait for Kisaragi to come back. I would have liked to secure the area around us in the meantime, but Lutz is the only one with a weapon.” He interrupted Soleil when she opened her mouth, “I don’t want you moving with that broken arm, Soleil.”

It had registered in the back of his mind that he was missing the familiar weight of Siegfried by his side, but it hadn’t been brought to the forefront of his attention until now. He felt naked without a weapon.

“I can still be useful in a fight even with one arm,” Soleil declared.

Siegbert stared her down though until she averted her eyes unhappily. Satisfied that she wasn’t going to throw herself into a dangerous situation any time soon, he was about to ask if they knew whether or not Dwyer required any assistance when Lutz cleared his throat.

“Um, about a weapon… I found this on the ground near you.”

Lutz held a sword up to him and Siegbert’s eyes widened upon the sight of it. He knew that sword, or rather, he knew that katana! He couldn’t stop himself from snatching it out of Lutz’s hands.

“You found this on the ground?! Are you sure?! And nothing else was nearby!?”

“U-Uh, yeah, sorry! It was just this.” Lutz was alarmed at his actions.

“What is it, Siegbert?” Even Soleil seemed surprised at his urgency.

“I suppose you two wouldn’t know of this katana. This blade’s name is Raijinto and it’s a royal weapon passed down through the Hoshidan royal family. It belongs to Shinonome,” Siegbert explained.

“No wonder you recognized it so fast,” Soleil joked, “No one spends more time together than the two of you.”

“Why wouldn’t they? They have so much in common! They’re both princes and the next leader of their countries, right?” Lutz tilted his head in confusion.

“No, I meant–” Soleil paused, “Ugh, nevermind. I’ve been spending too much time with Eponine.”

Siegbert, who had been ignoring their chatter and examining the katana, muttered to himself, “Why is Raijinto here though without any sign of Shinonome? Could something have happened to him…? Not to mention Siegfried is missing too…”

“Um, Siegbert, was it bad for me to find this?”

Siegbert was pulled out of his thoughts by Lutz’s question. He looked over to see the younger boy worrying his bottom lip with his teeth and staring up at him.

“No! Of course not! Thank you for finding this. It’s close enough to a sword that I can use it.” Siegbert shook his head, “As Foleo would say, you have the devil’s own luck.”

As far as jokes went he was sure that was barely passable, but Lutz seemed happy to hear it and flushed with pride.

Their lighthearted moment was broken though when Dwyer suddenly cried out and slumped onto the ground.

“Dwyer!” All three of them shouted his name and hurried over to him.

Soleil hovered worriedly as Lutz crouched down and pulled Dwyer up, letting the older boy lean on him for support. Siegbert took this chance to look over Velour and stiffened upon seeing her mangled state up close. It looked like two of her legs were broken and there was a large slash along her flank, barely closed and still bleeding sluggishly.

“Damn it, damn it, DAMN IT!” Dwyer snarled as he struggled to lean forward and raise a shaky hand towards Velour; the glow around his hand flickered on and off though, wisps of it disappearing before they could even reach her wounds. "Don’t die…! Not on my watch!”

“Dwyer, stop!” Soleil shouted, “You’re pushing yourself too hard!”

“I still have enough in me… at least enough to save her life! I promised… I promised!!”

Lutz shot a helpless look to Siegbert as Dwyer struggled, almost wildly, to reach Velour. His entire body was trembling though and were it not for Lutz’s support Dwyer would have been flat on the ground already.

“I promised… I promised…” Dwyer’s eyes were fixed on Velour’s still form as he moaned, “… I promised.”

Siegbert closed his eyes tightly. He had been there when Dwyer’s father, Joker, had died defending Dwyer. Despite Dwyer’s talents, the injury was fatal; it had been too close to Joker’s heart and so he was unable to be saved. He hadn’t overheard the last exchange between parent and child but ever since then Dwyer was almost fanatic in making sure the rest of them stayed alive.

“Dwyer,” Siegbert’s tone was harsh but it cut through to the other boy, “What’s the most important thing to treat right now?”

“She… She has three broken ribs that I barely managed to patch. I don’t want her moved because they might break again and nick her organs… Then there’s the internal bleeding. I need to stop that.”

Siegbert looked Dwyer over. Sweat had already soaked into the other boy’s collar and his breathing was choppy. If he continued to push himself and force his magic then he would be putting his own life in danger. He would literally work himself to death.

“Can you stop her internal bleeding without risking yourself?”

Dwyer blinked up at him in a daze, “I think… yes. Yes, I can. But I’ll need to seal the wound too or else she’ll be at risk for an infection; she won’t be able to survive one in her state.”

“Don’t seal the wound.”

Dwyer gaped at him. Lutz let out a cry of alarm.

“Siegbert! What are you saying?!” Soleil snapped at him.

“Velour is strong and I believe in her. There’s a chance she can fight off an infection, but we can’t afford to lose Dwyer.”

Soleil’s face became bloodless. Lutz looked between the two of them in confusion.

_One-two._

“No, I can do this,” Dwyer protested, “I can do both treatments without a problem–”

_Three-four._

“I order you as the First Prince of Nohr. You are not allowed to seal her wound. You may only treat her internal bleeding.” Siegbert commanded.

His voice was absolute steel and brooked no disagreement. Dwyer automatically closed his mouth with a click at his voice. Even Soleil and Lutz were deathly silent.

Dwyer stared at him, frustration warring with betrayal on his face, before it all bled away into resignation. “Yes, your Royal Highness.”

Lutz opened his mouth but Soleil shushed him.

Siegbert was already turning away though, moving to check on the four unconscious forms. He knew Dwyer well enough to know that the other boy wouldn’t sneak around his direct order and so he left him to his healing.

In truth, he needed some distance from them right now and Soleil must have understood because she kept Lutz beside her as they sat tensely by Velour and watched Dwyer work.

He hated what he had done. And he hated that he was feeling hate over what he had done. He didn’t want to assign value to the lives of his friends because they were all precious to him, but in this case they really couldn’t afford to lose Dwyer over Velour when Ophelia, Ignis, Eponine, and Sophie were still in danger of their conditions taking a turn for the worse. It was the cold-hearted calculus of a prince and his troops.

If his father were here… his father would have been able to make a firm decision. No, even before this, his father would never have been in such a situation. Didn’t Soleil say that they had grouped together to guard him when he went after Shinonome? It was his fault that they were in this situation. Siegbert could feel his body start to tremble and he fought bitterly to suppress it, clenching his hands.

It was the bite of Raijinto’s handle that shocked him out of his spiraling thoughts. He glanced at the blade in his hand, not realizing that he had been holding onto it all this time, and the sight of it reminded him of Shinonome.

If the other prince were here, what would he say about this situation? He’d probably slap him on the back, tell him not to worry so much, and that if he felt responsible for the situation then he needed to man up, accept that responsibility, and get everyone to safety.

“If only it were that easy,” Siegbert murmured, “I wish you were here, my friend.”

He could really do with some reckless determination from the other boy right now. Things had always felt less bleak when he was with Shinonome, someone who shared the burden of his position and responsibilities.

To be honest, the katana felt awkward in his hands too and he couldn’t shake the feeling of needing to see it in Shinonome’s hands. He wondered where Shinonome was and how he was doing.

If any of the others were around then they would have either found them already or Kisaragi would have returned early, bringing them with him. He didn’t - couldn’t - believe that Shinonome and the rest were gone. They just needed to find each other.

It also hadn’t escaped his attention at how almost all of the people here with him were Nohrians, so it didn’t feel like a large stretch to imagine that Shinonome was with the Hoshidans. At least he hoped so. He also hoped the other group weren’t as injured as they were.

Hope. Was that all he could do right now? Just sit around and hope?

Realizing that he had just been standing beside his four unconscious friends deep in thought, Siegbert gave himself a shake and crouched down to look them over. Fortunately, it seemed like they were all still breathing without a problem.

“Get better soon,” he murmured, looking at each one.

Ophelia, his cousin and someone who never failed to cheer him up with her strange actions. Ignis, a stalwart friend and his fellow protector of the others. Eponine, a girl he might not always understand but one who taught him to look underneath the underneath. Sophie, a close friend who he could always rely on to help him take care of the others.

Standing up again, he moved slightly away from them and glanced back to see how Dwyer and the others were doing. It looked like Dwyer had just finished treating Velour’s bleeding because he now sat still in front of the canine, head in his hands. Lutz was petting Velour’s muzzle, murmuring something to her, while Soleil kept a careful eye on Dwyer.

Reassured that nothing urgent seemed to be happening, Siegbert started to pace and kept an eye on the distant fields, forest, and mountain. They were on a small, flat hill which gave him an advantage to see if anyone was coming in their direction. But he still nearly missed the swiftly moving shape hugging the trees until they raised their hand and gave a holler.

“It’s Kisaragi!” Siegbert shouted over his shoulder.

They waited impatiently for several minutes before Kisaragi finally arrived and raised a tired hand in greeting. “Siegbert! Glad to see you’re up! How’s everyone doing?”

“We could be better. Did you find any herbs for Velour? And do you know where we are?” Siegbert asked rapidly.

“I was only able to find some of the ones that Dwyer described. I hope it’s enough,” Kisaragi said. “Here, Lutz, catch!”

He tossed a small pouch over to the smaller boy, who caught it and passed it to Dwyer. Dwyer immediately opened the pouch and returned to treating Velour; he was still obeying Siegbert’s orders not to use his magic though.

Kisaragi shot a worried look at Velour before turning back to Siegbert, “About where we are… I have some good news and bad news.”

“Tell me.”

“Good news is that I know where we are. Bad news is that we’re about to have some company soon.”

“What?!”

“We’re in Hoshido. See that mountain over there? It’s covered in watchtowers because that’s where the Hoshidan capital is. I’m sure we’ve already been spotted because I saw people leaving Fort Jinya.”

Siegbert was speechless. He wasn’t too surprised to hear that they were in Hoshido, because he’d heard stories about how beautiful the country was from Shinonome and this place was nigh idyllic. But how did they end up here from the Bottomless Canyon?

“Do you know who’s coming?”

“No, sorry, I couldn’t get a close look at them, so I decided to come back first to warn everyone.”

Siegbert nodded in thanks, “That was the right call.”

The situation was rapidly spiraling from terrible to disastrous though. He cast an eye back at his friends. Five were unconscious. Dwyer was exhausted. Soleil was of limited help with her broken arm. That left only him, Kisaragi, and Lutz… to possibly fight an entire group of fresh warriors.

Siegbert resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. “Lutz, I want you to remain behind here with Soleil. Kisaragi and I will go to meet them.”

“I’m coming with you,” Soleil immediately protested.

“No. If a fight does break out, you’re going to be a liability when they target you first. You two are the last defense for our friends if everything turns south.”

Soleil scowled at him but she reluctantly accepted his point. Lutz swallowed heavily but nodded.

“Don’t worry, guys! I’m sure nothing bad will happen. We Hoshidans are known for our hospitality.” Kisaragi winked.

Siegbert appreciated Kisaragi’s attempt to cheer Lutz up with his optimism, but he wasn’t sure if Hoshidan hospitality applied to a Nohrian group. At any rate, he fastened Raijinto onto his belt and gestured at Kisaragi to lead the way.

The two of them walked down the gentle slope of the hill and back the way Kisaragi came from until they were far enough where, if they looked back, they could barely see the shapes of their friends.

It felt like forever before the silhouettes of people appeared in the distance. Siegbert exhaled slowly, trying to calm himself down for the inevitable meeting, but his hand reflexively flew to Raijinto when Kisaragi gasped.

“What is it? What do you see?” Siegbert asked sharply.

“It’s… It’s… Dad?”

Siegbert whipped his head over to Kisaragi, who was still looking into the distance with naked disbelief in his face. He didn’t blame the other boy though because he was in a similar state. This was impossible! Everyone he knew had lost their parents.

"You know that’s impossible, Kisaragi. It has to be some kind of trick.”

“I know… I know! But he doesn’t look like an undead! He looks just like how I remember him!” A look of pained yearning crossed Kisaragi’s face.

Siegbert strained his eyes but he didn’t have the vision that Kisaragi had and the people in the distance were still indistinguishable shapes.

“Kisaragi, I need you to get a hold of yourself. You’re my only support here.”

The younger boy swallowed heavily but nodded and fought for some semblance of control over his emotions. Siegbert himself was just starting to stow away his incredulous look at this turn of events before the strangers came close enough for him to see them as well.

And when he did he was stunned.

Impossible.

This was insane.

There, right in front of him, was Ryouma, the High Prince of Hoshido. Shinonome’s father. Shinonome’s father who should, by all rights, be dead.

As he struggled to maintain his decorum he noted that beside Ryouma was Takumi, the second Prince of Hoshido, and Kisaragi’s father. They had a small entourage of soldiers behind them who stood by warily as their two princes stepped forward to meet Siegbert and Kisaragi.

“Nohrian. You and your companions are trespassing on Hoshidan land,” Ryouma stated. “We agreed on a ceasefire, but your unsanctioned presence could be taken as an act of aggression.”

Siegbert automatically straightened his back at that imperial voice, but he returned the other man’s gaze evenly. He buried the confusion that he was feeling. Ceasefire?

“I apologize. We had no intentions of… trespassing on any lands, but we were caught in an… accident and ended up here.”

It was a pitiful defense. He knew it. They knew it. But what else could he say? He couldn’t tell them that he and his friends had been fighting an ancient monster on top of the Bottomless Canyon, only to fall and end up under a blue sky that shouldn’t exist anymore, and now they’re speaking to people who were supposed to be long dead. It already sounded insane just being laid out in his mind like that.

“Accident? Don’t make me laugh,” Takumi sneered, “You Nohrian scum have been trying to get into our land for ages now. If this is your newest ploy it needs a lot more work.”

Siegbert tensed at the aggression in Takumi’s voice and a pang of worry shot through him before he calmed himself. Ryouma was clearly the leader here and all he needed to do was convince the High Prince. If worse came to worst, perhaps he could bluff their way through this–

A red-haired ninja suddenly appeared beside Ryouma and reported something quietly into his ear.

Ryouma, who had tipped his head towards the ninja, turned a calculating look towards Siegbert. A sense of dread crept up on him.

“It seems like you weren’t lying about being caught in an accident. Your companions are quite heavily injured.”

Ryouma’s eyes slid past him to the hill behind them and Siegbert froze, feeling like an idiot. He had thought the red-haired ninja looked vaguely familiar and now he realized why. He was Gurei’s father, Saizou, and Siegbert knew firsthand how deceptive and quiet Gurei could be. He was an idiot for forgetting about the famous Hoshidan ninjas; there went their possibility of bluffing.

“This could still be a trap, brother. I don’t trust them,” Takumi said, “They’ve clearly broken the terms of the ceasefire and we should just get rid of them now.”

Two things happened. Siegbert’s hand dropped onto the hilt of Raijinto and Kisaragi went still before protesting loudly.

“Dad! No!”

Silence.

Siegbert turned his head slowly to Kisaragi, who glanced back at him with a sheepish look. “… Oops.”

“… What did you just call me?” Takumi asked incredulously after a beat.

Kisaragi back-peddled, “You must have misheard. I said “Bad! No!” I didn’t say dad, nope!”

"Kisaragi–”

But Siegbert was interrupted.

“Where did you get that blade? And that bow…” Ryouma’s eyes were focused on Siegbert’s hand, where he was gripping the Raijinto.

“It can’t be… that’s the Fujin Yumi but…” Takumi raised a hand and touched his own bow, as if confirming that it was still on his back.

Siegbert exchanged a look with Kisaragi and hesitated.

"Answer me, boy! Who are you and where did you get that blade?” Ryouma demanded.

Siegbert could feel a bead of sweat trail down his neck as the overwhelming pressure of the situation settled on him. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see Kisaragi nervously holding still under his father’s scrutiny. Countless responses were devised and discarded as Siegbert tried to come up with a way to secure the safety of his friends.

In the end he chose to raise his chin and declare, “I am Siegbert, the First Prince of Nohr, and I was given the Raijinto by Shinonome, the Prince of Hoshido, and your son.”

It was a half-truth. He hadn’t officially been given the Raijinto by Shinonome, but he knew the other boy wouldn’t mind him claiming it like this, especially if it could offer him protection. He would do the same if their positions were reversed.

Ryouma narrowed his eyes, “I would call you a liar for I have no son and the only Prince of Nohr that I am aware of is Prince Leon, but there is no mistaking that blade or bow.”

Siegbert could only focus on one part though. “W-What about the Crown Prince? Is there none?”

“Crown Prince… do you speak of the previous one, Marx? He is currently the King of Nohr.”

What.

Siegbert felt as if the ground had been torn away from him. His father had died before an inauguration could be held to make him King. What was going on here? Where were they? It was like they were in a different… world. He didn’t realize a look of helplessness had overtaken him until Ryouma’s eyes softened.

“If we offer aid to you and your companions, will you surrender your weapons and come with us peacefully?”

“Brother, what are you–” Takumi started.

“Something strange is going on here. Even you must be able to see that, Takumi. In all the world there should only be one set of these royal weapons, and yet these two are clearly carrying the Raijinto and the Fujin Yumi.”

Siegbert was thrown by the abrupt offer and scrabbled for an answer, not daring to believe that their luck could change like this. “I-I thank you for your hospitality… High Prince Ryouma.”

Ryouma chuckled. “It’s been a while since I’ve heard that title. I’m afraid I’m no prince. I am the King of Hoshido.”

Siegbert exchanged looks with Kisaragi, whose eyes reflected a similar state of confusion. He didn’t know what to expect anymore.


	3. Chapter 3

**ACT III.**

Shinonome and Foleo burst out of the tree line, only to find themselves staring at a scene of chaos from a hill.

They could see a town right in front of them; sections of it were covered in flames, many buildings were destroyed or collapsing, there were townspeople fleeing and scattering all over, and pursuing them were soldiers in armor and with weapons.

Even from here Shinonome could hear the screams of the people and the hooting and jeering of the soldiers. He unconsciously took a step forward, hands clenching into fists.

Foleo, who had slumped over and braced his hands on his knees to catch his breath, looked up and was stunned. “Nohrian soldiers?! But why would they–”

He wasn’t able to finish his sentence before another dragon roar split the air, closer this time, interrupting him. A golden streak could be seen darting between the buildings before it scaled one and paused on the roof, causing the entire structure to sway and buckle ominously. Shinonome and Foleo were more focused on how the golden streak revealed itself to be a large fox though.

And then they both saw the dragon, rising between buildings with its wings flared; the air around its head shimmered before water started to gather in a swirling vortex in front of its mouth. Once the water had condensed into a ball the dragon shot it at the fox, who just barely dived out of the way off the roof.

As the fox landed on the streets it charged the dragon, forming and launching small balls of fire at the dragon with its tail. The fireballs exploded into sparks in front of the dragon, enraging it and causing it to focus singularly on the fox as it darted off again to escape between the buildings.

Meanwhile, the water bullet that was shot flew into the sky harmlessly before dispersing into droplets of water that landed on the numerous fires spread throughout the town. It wasn’t enough to put out any of the fires but it slowed the spread of the flames as it dampened the buildings.

“That was Kinu and Kanna! What’s going on though?! Those two know better than to transform in a town like this and endanger so many! And why was Kanna attacking Kinu?!” Foleo couldn’t understand.

“I don’t know either but the quickest way to find out is to get down there and to them!”

“Wait, Shinonome! We don’t even know the situation yet!”

But Shinonome had already dashed down the hill and towards the town.

**—**

Shinonome found himself stepping into a version of hell.

It was chaos and mayhem.

Everywhere.

He ran by a flaming building, giving it a wide berth as its wooden supports creaked threateningly, and raised his arm up to cover his nose and mouth with his sleeve. The air was filled with smoke which only increased as he advanced deeper into the town; he could feel himself start to sweat at the heat.

Whenever he encountered any townspeople he tried to tell them to run in the direction of the forest he came from so that they could escape the soldiers pursuing them and the fire. But they always took one glance at his Hoshidan clothing, paled, and then ran in the opposite direction.

Shinonome cursed under his breath as the latest person stumbled away from him, fear on their face. He didn’t know how to help these people when none of them gave him a chance. Maybe it was best for him to just find Kanna and Kinu as soon as possible and move the two giants away from the people and the buildings. He wasn’t exactly sure how he was going to manage that, but he’d figure it out after he found them.

Unfortunately, he was hopelessly lost in the town and though he could periodically hear Kanna roar the sound was distorted with all the buildings, the crackling of the fire, and the occasional collapse of a building.

As Shinonome rounded a corner it was his reflexes, sharpened from a lifetime in an utterly destroyed world, that allowed him to avoid the first swing of the sword aimed at his neck. Leaping back, he was barely able to pull Siegfried out from his sash to block the next attack.

Looking past the locked swords, all he could see was a pale face set in a helmet and then he was suddenly back there. _A world on fire. The thick, wet, cloying tang of iron in the air. Empty, empty eyes and a mouth stretched too wide._

Shinonome snarled, throwing his weight forward and making his opponent step back. He lunged forward, dodging a thrust at his face, but a sharp burning sensation let him know that his cheek had been grazed by the edge of the sword. He was in the other’s guard now though and he pressed his advantage, slamming the hilt of Siegfried into the other’s gut, and then side-stepping to kick the other’s feet out from under them.

It was only after he lowered himself, thrusting his knee into the other’s stomach, and knocked off the other’s helmet to jab the wrapped Siegfried into the other’s throat that words started to register to him.

“Mercy…!! Mercy, sir, please!!”

It was a man staring back up at him, pupils dilated wide with terror. Not an undead. Not the soulless face of the horde he, and the others, had been hunted by.

Shinonome breathed harshly, his own eyes wide, and it was only his training that continued to keep his hands steady. Rising to his feet, he hesitated for a second before slamming Siegfried down on the man’s weapon arm; wrapped as it was, Siegfried wouldn’t cut the man’s arm off but it was enough to break the bone.

He ignored the scream of pain from the man, “Get out of here, stop terrorizing the townspeople, and take your comrades with you. Or I’ll do this to every single one of you.”

Shinonome stepped away and watched as the man clambered to his feet, holding his broken arm to his chest, and throw him a terrified look before scrambling away.

He didn’t know if that was the right course of action. Was his threat going to work? Would it make a difference here? He didn’t know. He didn’t know anything except for the fact that, in that moment, he couldn’t bring himself to take another’s life.

He wasn’t blind or stupid and clearly there was something going on here. There were no towns from the place he came from, only ruins acting as the empty husks of civilization. And coming from a world where it felt like no one was alive but him and his friends, he couldn’t bring himself to take away even a single life in this new and strange place.

His hands were shaking. Shinonome gave a weak bark of laughter when he noticed that.

“Did I do the right thing, Siegbert?” He tightened his grip on his borrowed sword.

But there was no response, only the crackling of flames, and his mind balked at continuing down this road and imagining what Siegbert would have done. Siegbert, ever the pragmatic. Shinonome didn’t know. He didn’t want to know. He didn’t want to think about it right now.

Another dragon roar tore through the town, followed by the high-pitched yelp of a fox, and Shinonome shook his head violently. Right, Kanna and Kinu. They were his immediate priority and everything else could be dealt with later.

It took a frustrating amount of corners and a few more soldiers he pummeled and sent packing before he finally stumbled upon a street that was empty save for two very familiar people.

“Shigure! Mitama!!” Shinonome shouted.

Mitama, his cousin, chanced a look at him before returning her attention back to Shigure and it was only when Shinonome drew nearer to them that he noticed Shigure was unconscious and that the back of his head was covered in blood. Mitama was drawing small symbols in the air and a glow of healing surrounded each one before they sank into Shigure.

“What happened to him? And what happened to this place?” Shinonome asked rapidly.

But Mitama only snapped back, “Rush not my good work / concussions are delicate / leave me to silence.”

He startled at her words; Mitama only ever fell into haiku when she was stressed (or when she wanted to bother people but he highly doubted this was the case). He was impatient for news but it looked like he could only wait for her to finish, and so he stepped away to pace and to keep an eye out for soldiers.

The sound of crunching stone made him whirl around, half-raising Siegfried into a ready stance, but it ended up being someone who he was also very familiar with.

“Midoriko!?”

“Shinonome!”

The younger girl’s face split into a wide smile before she ran at him and he barely had time to move Siegfried out of the way before she barreled into him for a hug. It was an awkward hug, him holding Siegfried in one hand and the bow on her back digging into the arm he looped around her, but he felt a part of him settle.

“Praise the Dawn!! I’m so glad you’re safe!” Midoriko’s voice was wobbly.

“Me too. You don’t know how relieved I am to have found you guys,” Shinonome tightened the arm he had around her, giving her a brief squeeze, before he released her so that he could look her in the eyes. “Do you know anything of what happened here?”

She shook her head, “I’m sorry but it was like this when I got here with Mitama. We found Shigure already hurt and when Mitama started healing him I went to make sure none of the soldiers in this place came and interrupted them.”

“… You didn’t kill any of them, did you?”

Midoriko must have heard something in his voice for she gave him a sobering look. And he hated it. It reminded him of the things that he didn’t want to think about right now.

She answered after a beat of silence. “Arrows aren’t exactly practical for disabling people in armor… but no, I didn’t kill anyone.”

Shinonome didn’t bother to hide the slump of relief in his shoulders. He knew that look in her eyes though and headed off her curiosity by ruffling her hair. “Good girl.”

“I’m not a kid anymore, stop doing that.” Midoriko pouted, smoothing down her bangs. Her eyes traced his face and paused on his cheek though. “Shinonome! You’re hurt!”

He blinked before raising his fingers to his cheek; his fingertips came away light red. “This? Oh, it’s just a scratch. It’ll heal on its own.”

Midoriko shook her head. “What if it gets infected? Let me put some medicine on it.”

“I’m okay for now, Midoriko. You can treat me later when we’re in a safer place.”

She seemed to want to disagree but resigned herself to nodding with a sigh. And then she peeked around him before looking at him again, “Have you found anyone else? It looks like you’re alone though…”

“No, actually I’m here with Fole– oh, crap, he’s going to kill me.”

“Shinonome! Don’t tell me you left him behind and ran into this place?!”

Shinonome rubbed the back of his neck nervously, “Um…”

He was saved from having to actually answer that question when Shigure groaned. Turning back to the other two, he saw Mitama sigh and lean back with relief as Shigure returned to consciousness, blinking multiple times.

“Mitama… Shinonome… Midoriko…?” Shigure murmured in confusion, before alarm crossed his features. “Kanna!!”

Shinonome rushed forward to support the other boy when he stood up and staggered. “Woah, hold on there! You’re in no state to go rushing anywhere yet. Can you tell us what happened?”

Shigure raised a hand to his head, frowning. “I… woke up near this town with Kanna and Kinu. We were trying to figure out where we were and where everyone else was… but then… people started screaming. Nohrian soldiers came into this town… and just started demanding things… They set the buildings on fire and cut down any who resisted.”

Shinonome exchanged looks with Midoriko and Mitama.

“I tried to leave with Kanna and Kinu. I didn’t want the two of them to get involved in this, not to mention we had no idea what was going on. But we ran into a group of soldiers before we could leave. I tried to negotiate for our passage but they attacked me, and I think Kanna was scared because she transformed…”

Shinonome, Midoriko, and Mitama stiffened.

Shigure’s frown deepened, this time with worry. “The moment she transformed she went wild and killed the men in front of us. I tried to calm her down but was thrown into a wall by her tail. Everything from there is a bit foggy but… I’m sure I asked Kinu to protect Kanna.”

Shinonome swallowed heavily. Ever since Kanna’s dragonstone had been shattered in a battle, she had been forbidden from transforming. Shigure had revealed the truth of his sister’s dragon blood to everyone and, after a long shouting match where he and Siegbert had expressed vehemently how much they hated information being withheld from them, everyone had helped to come up with ways to contain Kanna should she transform.

Shigure was still the most effective way of calming her down enough to reverse her transformation, especially combined with his song. But in his absence, Velour and Kinu were the only ones capable of wrestling with an enraged dragon. Even though they had practiced for this possibility, Shinonome was still worried because this was the first time they had to use it in a real situation.

He also hated to ask this question, “Does your song still work on her?”

Shigure had told them that each subsequent transformation without her dragonstone took a toll on Kanna’s sanity and he would have a harder and harder time calming her down until his song was no longer effective. To put it simply, if Kanna continued to transform she would end up becoming a savage and mindless dragon.

Shigure hesitated before nodding firmly, “It should. We need to subdue her though. With all this chaos around she won’t be able to hear my voice unless I’m very close.”

Great. First, they had to herd the large angry dragon. Second, they had to make the large angry dragon stay in one place. And third, they had to keep the large angry dragon from taking any of their heads off. Well, he’s always liked challenging the odds.

“Alright, here’s what we’ll do. We need to get Kanna out of the town. Mitama, you’ll have to help Kinu keep Kanna in place while Shigure calms her. Midoriko and I will make sure no one interrupts,” Shinonome directed.

“The fastest way out of this town is down this street and left,” Mitama said.

He trusted in her memory. “Mitama, lead everyone out right now. I’ll follow shortly.”

She nodded and stepped forward to take his position in supporting Shigure, but the other boy shook his head and stepped away to stand on his own. He swayed for a second before steadying. “I can move on my own.”

Shinonome watched as the three moved down the street. It was only after Midoriko threw one last glance at him over her shoulder before she turned the corner that he moved to the center of the street and sucked in a deep breath.

“KINU!!”

He couldn’t be sure of how far his shout traveled but he trusted in the ears of a fox.

A few uncomfortable minutes still crawled by though before he felt more than heard the scampering of paws. A yellow blur hurtled itself around a corner and was barely able to come to a stop in front of him.

Kinu, upon recognizing him, yipped and bounced around him in a giddy circle, stopping in front of him again to butt her head into his chest. Shinonome wheezed at the feeling of the air getting knocked out of him before he laughed.

“Alright, alright,” he rubbed at the patch of fur between her eyes, “I’m glad to see you too, Kinu, and good work so far! I need you to do one more thing though. We need to get Kanna to calm down.”

Kinu trilled and pulled back with a questioning tilt to her head.

“Don’t worry, Shigure is back on his feet with help from Mitama. Midoriko is here too and they’re all waiting outside this town. We need you to bring Kanna to us. I’m sure you can smell them out but they should be that way.” He gestured in the direction that he saw Mitama and the others leave in.

Kinu nodded.

“Thanks, you’re a lifesaver.” Shinonome paused as he noticed the grime attached to her fur, “When this is all over we’ll find a place to let you bathe as long as you want, and then I’ll play with you for an entire day. How’s that sound?”

In response, Kinu stepped away from him and shook herself enthusiastically. Soot and dust flew off of her fur, creating a cloud that made Shinonome splutter and cough.

“You little brat!”

She yipped, muzzle parting in a vulpine smile, before she dashed back the way she came, probably to collect Kanna. Just as he thought that, he heard a resounding dragon roar. Yep.

Now he just needed to do his part. Shinonome made his way towards the exit as well, following in the steps of Mitama and the others. He felt a pang of worry for Foleo, but the other boy was clever and he would no doubt be able to make his way to them, especially with the racket they were causing with Kinu and Kanna.

Shinonome picked up his pace as he heard thundering paws and claws on the ground, but within seconds he had to throw himself into a nearby alcove to avoid Kinu and Kanna as they barreled down the street and out of the town.

Alright! Step One: herd dragon, complete! Now onto Step Two and Step Three.

Hurrying to the edge of the town, Shinonome was just about to step out before he caught a dark shape moving towards him out of the corner of his eyes.

Once again, it was pure instinct that made him turn and raise Siegfried up, but even then the blow that struck against his wrapped sword rattled his teeth and shook his arm. If he had been any less prepared, he would have either been decapitated or had his weapon sent flying off into the distance. As it was, the force of the attack still made him slide a few feet through the dirt and out of the town.

Shinonome barely kept himself from collapsing to a knee, but he had to give his arm a shake to dispel the ringing numbness. He adjusted his grip on his sword.

“Shinonome!!”

He heard the alarmed cries of Shigure and Midoriko, but he also heard Kanna’s enraged roar and the sound of Mitama and Kinu struggling to keep her down, and so he quickly yelled back, “Don’t worry about me! Calm Kanna down!”

He refocused his attention back on his opponent and then froze.

He couldn’t breathe.

What.

This… wasn’t possible.

A man sat astride a massive warhorse. A man with golden hair, a crown, and a very familiar sword pointed at him.

It was the Crown Prince of Nohr, Marx. And yet, it couldn’t be… because he knew that Siegbert’s father had died! 

He was given no more time to think on this though when cold eyes assessed him. “Draw your blade, Hoshidan.”

Feeling like his heart was going to climb out of his throat, Shinonome steadied himself and brought his sword into a ready stance before shaking his head mutely.

He didn’t know if he wanted to laugh or cry at this moment. He had heard plenty of stories from Siegbert about the prowess of his father and now here he was, able to challenge this esteemed warrior. Except, it was going to be a life-and-death struggle for him and he was using a sword wrapped in frills. _Frills._

“So be it,” Marx intoned.

And then he urged his horse forward. The warhorse snorted before lunging forward, hooves kicking up the dirt, and Shinonome was barely able to defend himself in time from Marx’s attack. And his subsequent one. And the one after that.

There was no time for him to think, only to react. His world shrunk to the swinging of their swords and the stamping hooves of Marx’s warhorse. But it was clear that Shinonome was slowly losing the fight. His reactions were slowing and each blow was getting closer and closer to slipping through his guard.

Deciding to take a risk, Shinonome blocked the next attack and then threw his weight forward, shoving Marx’s blade away, and making a reach for the halter of the warhorse.

As he expected, the warhorse reared upon seeing his hand flash out and Marx’s next swing faltered as he had to grip the reins tight to settle his horse. Meanwhile, Shinonome dived to the side, tucking in his head and praying that none of the horse’s flailing hooves struck him. It would be an ignoble death if he got his head caved in here.

Luck was with him today though when he managed to escape without being struck by the horse or by Marx; but as he clambered to his feet and brought his sword up in defense he found Marx watching him from a few paces away.

“I find no pleasure in this battle,” Marx suddenly stated, “Stand aside from those two creatures behind you and I shall make sure this offense goes no further than the deaths of you and your comrades.”

Shinonome laughed breathlessly in surprise, taking this chance to wipe the sweat from his face with the back of his arm, “What? My choices are to fight you to death or… stand aside and die? That’s not very appealing. What offense did we ever commit?”

He was thankful for this brief respite but also not, because while he could catch his breath he could also feel the aches and light wounds he suffered from their brief clash starting to make themselves known.

There was a shallow cut that started from his collarbone and ended at his shoulder from when he didn’t block fast enough. And his injured cheek was stinging again from his impromptu dive to the ground. He didn’t even want to think about how his legs were starting to tremble and how raising Siegfried made all the muscles in his arm burn in protest.

Marx frowned, and for a second Shinonome thought he wouldn’t answer, but then the man glanced at the town. “Nohr and Hoshido agreed on a ceasefire; however, the destruction of this town clearly breaks those terms.”

… what?

Ceasefire?

Shinonome opened and closed his mouth. His gut reaction was to deny having anything to do with the destruction of that town, but he could still hear Kinu and Kanna struggling in the background. Admittedly, they had added to some of the damage but they did their best to minimize everything!

Could he claim that they had no affiliations to Hoshido? The thought rubbed at him wrongly though and they clearly looked Hoshidan while wearing Hoshidan clothing.

But then he recalled something that Foleo had mentioned. “Hey, wait! We didn’t do all of this! You should question some of your own soldiers. By the time we arrived, they were already pillaging this place. My friends were attacked by those soldiers and only reacted in self-defense! Maybe if your soldiers were better disciplined this wouldn’t have happened!”

As Marx’s lips thinned, Shinonome winced inwardly and apologized to Siegbert because it looked like he would never understand how to do friendly international relations.

“Be that as it may, it still does not pardon your group’s transgression into Nohrian land and their participation, however slight, in this town’s destruction. Blood shall be repaid with blood, Hoshidan.” Marx raised his blade, Siegfried, and the ebony core of it suddenly glowed as purple-black flames burst into life along its edges.

Shinonome gave a hearty curse. Fuck. He didn’t want to remove Foleo’s mantle from his Siegfried, but he also didn’t want to know what it would feel like to hold an _actual_ flaming sword if Foleo’s mantle caught on fire.

He undid the knot on the wrapping just as Marx urged his horse forward and then the short mantle was tossed aside just as Marx raised his blade. Shinonome was barely able to see the widening of Marx’s eyes before Siegfried met Siegfried.

The two blades collided into each other with an unholy screech of metal on metal and, for a second, Shinonome thought he saw the flames from Marx’s sword race down his sword and braced himself to be burned, but then his sword retaliated with its own flames. Shinonome felt his blade shake wildly as the handle started to heat up, burning his hand.

In the next instant, a miniature explosion occurred between their swords and threw him and Marx apart.

Fortunately, Shinonome ended up landing a few feet away from his friends. His Siegfried followed him, arcing through the air and striking the ground a few inches beside him, still smoking.

Through blurry eyes, he could see that Marx had been thrown off his horse in the direction of the town. His Siegfried had also landed near him, smoking.

Sorry, Siegbert. He really, really couldn’t do friendly international relations. 

“Marx!” A woman yelled in concern, before a wyvern landed on top of a building at the edge of the town; both it and its mistress glared down at him. “You…!”

He would recognize that hair color anywhere. It was Camilla, the eldest Princess of Nohr. He could see her grip tighten on her axe and he struggled to climb to his feet to prepare for her inevitable descent when a cold voice spoke from beside him.

“Don’t even think about it. One move and I’ll release this arrow.”

It was Midoriko, with an arrow nocked and aimed straight at Camilla. At this range, the wyvern rider wouldn’t be able to avoid any shot and Camilla seemed to know it because her face twisted into a terrifying smile that promised blood when she could get out of this.

At any other time, Shinonome might have laughed at hearing Midoriko’s child-like voice issue a threat like that but at present his mind was preoccupied by the agony shooting through him from his burned hand.

However, despite the pain, he was still able to see the tilt of Camilla’s head which gave him just enough of a warning to throw himself at Midoriko, shielding her with his own body from a whirling stream of flames that launched from the town.

He gritted his teeth, tears springing to his eyes when he jarred his hand, and braced himself, waiting for the magic to incinerate him.

But there was no pain.

Only the roar of flames striking something… wooden? Before dying down to silence (aside from the growling of Kanna, Kinu, and Mitama’s dragon spirits).

Shinonome cracked open an eye to find himself and Midoriko surrounded by interlocking branches, which retracted quickly before an entire tree-like structure sunk back into the ground.

“Oh, gods… I could kiss you, Foleo.” Shinonome gasped out before he clambered to his feet with Midoriko.

“Please don’t ever rush headlong into danger again,” Foleo snapped as he appeared, covered in grime. “Do you know how long it took me to find you? And then I had to avoid this group!”

Foleo gestured erratically at the Nohrian group in front of them, before he took a second look at them and froze. Shinonome, following his line of sight, saw the source of the whirling flames, a man, ride out calmly from the town followed by an entourage of soldiers. It was Leon, the second Prince of Nohr, and Foleo’s father.

By this time, Marx had already gotten back to his feet and Camilla directed her wyvern to the ground, concern on her face. But he simply retrieved his sword and flexed his hand within its gauntlet.

Shinonome couldn’t hear the quiet conversation between the Nohrian royals but it wasn’t hard to guess what they were probably talking about when their eyes would go from him, to his Siegfried still stuck in the ground, to Foleo who had demonstrated Brynhildr’s ability (he had been told by Foleo that the tree-like structures were unique to the tome), and then back to him again.

But all of that was pushed aside to be dealt with later when he heard Mitama’s sharp voice.

“Shigure, now!!”

Shinonome split his attention between the Nohrians and Shigure, making sure they weren’t going to take advantage of this moment. Fortunately, they seemed content to just watch tensely as Shigure stepped closer to Kanna, who had finally been pinned to the ground by Kinu and Mitama.

There were dragon spirits curled around Kanna’s limbs, restraining them, while Kinu had her sharp teeth around Kanna’s throat, periodically issuing a growl whenever the dragon strained against her bonds. Both Mitama and Kinu looked worse for wear, drooping from exhaustion and covered in superficial injuries.

And then Shigure opened his mouth and sang.

“You are the ocean’s gray waves, destined to seek life beyond the shore just out of reach. Yet the waters ever change, flowing like time, the path is yours to climb.”

Shinonome felt his tense muscles relax involuntarily at the familiar notes of this song. Practically everyone in their group could hum this song in their sleep from how often it was heard. It resonated strangely within them.

Kanna’s entire form wavered, almost like a mirage, before her entire form was covered by a bright light that shrunk and became a young girl, who fell unconscious immediately.

“Kanna!” Shigure stopped singing when she reverted back and closed the remaining distance between them to pull her into his arms.

Mitama glanced towards Shinonome and Foleo, but Shinonome shook his head to tell her nonverbally to tend to Kanna. She gave a tense nod and then turned towards Kanna before proceeding to draw symbols that glowed and sank into Kanna’s skin. Kinu also transformed back, plopping onto the ground and breathing heavily.

Shinonome gave Midoriko a light push with his uninjured hand, trying to nudge her to the others who were behind him and Foleo. She gave him a hard stare, but when he returned her stare resolutely she huffed and pressed a bottle of medicine into his hand.

“For the burn. You better get that looked at soon though,” she whispered before passing him and going to the others. Kinu had, amazingly, fallen asleep. Shigure was still holding Kanna tightly.

Shinonome tossed back the medicine and felt its effects immediately, the pain in his burned hand dulling to a faint sensation. He picked up Siegfried with his left hand though, not wanting to aggravate his injured hand more than necessary, and moved to stand beside Foleo, who had been staring at his father timidly.

The other royals seemed to take that as a sign and stepped forward; Marx was at the front but it was Leon who spoke first.

“What devilry is this? Those two transformed from creatures to humans and the two of you have legen–… weapons from Nohr.” His hand was gripping his own Brynhildr tightly.

"Those transformations are their natural abilities. As for these weapons they were… given to us.” Foleo said.

The three royals seemed to startle at hearing Foleo’s voice, though they hid it well. Shinonome didn’t bother to hide his amusement; they probably weren’t expecting Foleo, with his curled hair and dainty clothes, to be a boy.

Foleo stepped on his foot.

“Given to you!?” Leon spluttered, “That’s impossible.”

“Those weapons aren’t toys and they don’t belong in the hands of children. Return them at once,” Camilla said.

“No,” Shinonome immediately replied, tightening his grip on Siegfried. Even Foleo seemed to lean away, a hand dropping to curl around his Brynhildr.

As the four of them tensed, Marx interrupted.

“Identify yourselves. I assumed you were a simple Hoshidan soldier, but the company you keep and the deference they give you implies differently. Furthermore, you,” here Marx shifted his gaze to Foleo, who froze, “are clearly Nohrian, yet you stand with a group of Hoshidans.”

Shinonome and Foleo exchanged looks, unsure of how to answer. Were they to answer truthfully or hide their royal lineage?

“They seem hesitant. Should I give them some encouragement?” Camilla asked Marx in a deceptively light voice.

Marx paused.

Shinonome felt his nerves become as taut as a bow string. They managed to fend off the first attack from the royals and now that Kanna wasn’t going wild they had Shigure, Mitama, and Kinu on their side. But those three were clearly exhausted, and he himself wasn’t in the best shape either.

He wanted to think they’d be able to defend themselves in the case of another attack but, honestly, they were at a disadvantage because none of them would be able to bring themselves to fight with an intent to kill. He knew the children of these three royals. How would he be able to face Siegbert, Soleil, and Foleo if he harmed their parents?

Needless to say, Foleo wouldn’t even be able to raise a hand against his father. The one time he had to do it nearly broke him and that was when he had been facing an undead version of his father. This one, although young, was genuine and alive.

Just as Marx opened his mouth to deliver his judgement on them–

Someone crashed through the bushes and stumbled out of the nearby tree line. Everyone turned to the noise, hands flying to their weapons, but Shinonome’s eyes widened.

“Gurei!?”

“Hey… partner…” The ninja raised a bloody hand in greeting and summoned up a weak smile, despite the ghastly look on his face as he stumbled towards them.

Midoriko and Mitama shot to their feet from their places beside Kanna and ran over to help Gurei. They gasped at the state of his back.

“Idiot ninja / sit down before you bleed out / I’m not taking blame.”

Gurei ignored her words though and stumbled towards Shinonome, only having eyes for the older boy. Shinonome reached out to support Gurei, but was pulled down to his knees when Gurei suddenly collapsed. His alarm rose when he touched Gurei’s shoulder and felt how the cloth was soaked in blood.

“Gurei…!”

Foleo nervously moved to cover Shinonome, not wanting his friend to expose his back to the Nohrian royals, who were watching them with narrowed eyes.

“Bandits… Matoi… others…”

"What!? You mean bandits have Matoi and the others?” Shinonome felt his heartbeat kick up. Did that mean everyone? Siegbert?!

“Had to… tell… princess… got out… barely…” Gurei’s head lolled, his words coming out disjointed and slurred.

Shinonome didn’t understand that sentence but he was afraid of putting the other boy through more strain. Mitama drew nearer to him, her brow furrowing as she started to write healing symbols into the air over Gurei.

“You escaped the bandits. Did you see their leader? Do you know where their hideout is?” Leon suddenly asked.

Shinonome shot him a glare but Gurei stirred weakly.

“… baldy… scars… an ugly sonnofa…”

Gurei’s voice trailed off and this time he didn’t move again, apart from the shallow rise and fall of his chest.

Leon turned away from them and looked into the distance, a thoughtful but calculating look on his face.

“Is he going to make it?” Shinonome asked, suppressing the anger he felt towards Leon for making Gurei answer that last question, as he disentangled himself from Gurei.

He was careful not to interrupt Mitama’s concentration before he waved Midoriko over; she took his place in supporting Gurei and started to pull out various poultices to help Mitama.

“So dumb like a brick / always halving lifespan / headstrong but hardy,” Mitama said distractedly.

Shinonome sighed in relief. Gurei would survive. He would probably have some new scars but he’d live.

Meanwhile, Foleo, who had been taking peeks at his father, started slowly, “This leader isn’t just a bandit, is he…”

Leon shot him a glare, “This has nothing to do with you–”

Foleo’s voice rose though. “I knew it. I knew true Nohrian soldiers wouldn’t terrorize a town full of innocent townspeople like this. Those soldiers were deserters!”

Shinonome recognized that glint in Foleo’s eyes, and he was starting to realize where the other’s line of thought was going.

“You want to know where this man is. Why? Because you can’t find him. But we know where he is now.”

“We could always torture it out of you darlings,” Camilla drawled.

Foleo swallowed heavily. “Wait, I propose–”

“A ceasefire,” Shinonome interrupted. He stared challengingly at Marx, “We’ll lead you to the deserters and help you deal with them, but in return you’ll help us retrieve our friends. That should repay whatever damage we caused to this town, right? And prove our sincerity when I say we don’t mean any harm.”

Marx raised an eyebrow, “By whose authority are you proposing this ceasefire?”

“Shinonome–” Foleo started.

“My own. I, Shinonome, the eldest Prince of Hoshido, propose a ceasefire with the previously stated terms. Are we in accord?”

Leon tried to protest but Marx raised a hand, silencing him, without breaking eye contact from Shinonome. 

“… Very well. I, Marx, the King of Nohr, accept your proposal, Prince Shinonome.”

Familiar eyes were looking directly at him, but they were set in an unfamiliar face.


	4. Chapter 4

**ACT III.**

_Swish. Up. Slash. Down. Whoosh. Lunge._

Breathe in. Breathe out.

Shinonome’s focus was narrowed down entirely to breathing and the motions of his body as he repeated his katas.

_Up. Down. Lunge. Pivot. Parry. Up. Down. Lunge._

Breathe in. Breathe out.

Physical exertions had always helped calm and clear his mind and never had he needed that more than now; so many things had happened in the past few hours that he had found himself running on adrenaline and instinct, pushing away everything that wasn’t urgent to be dealt with later. But now everything was catching up to him and clambering for attention in his mind, hence his sudden desire to train.

Hah! It looked like Siegbert’s lectures on how he should think more before acting actually had an effect. Unfortunately, the thought of the other prince simply brought their present situation to the forefront of his mind, along with something else that he desperately didn’t want to think about.

He had managed to come to an agreement with Marx, the Crown Prince of Nohr– no, the _King_ of Nohr.

(And there was a part of him that was still stunned at running into Siegbert’s father because if Siegbert’s father was alive then wouldn’t that mean–)

Shinonome’s grip on Siegfried slipped. He corrected his overextended lunge and felt his muscles strain in protest.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

Anyway, he had managed to come to an agreement with Marx that bought time for him and his friends to recuperate and think of their next step.

He could already feel impatience stirring in him at the knowledge that Matoi and the others were close; but Gurei hadn’t been able to give them directions before he collapsed from his wounds, and so they were forced to wait for him to awaken.

In the meantime, the small Nohrian group commanded by Marx, Leon, and Camilla had set up camp beside the town to help with repairs and provide relief. He didn’t particularly have any prejudice against Nohrians, especially not after having met Siegbert and his group, but he had to admit he was surprised and impressed at how readily the royal family of Nohr offered their aid to the townspeople.

It looked like Marx was a direct ruler and favored being in the field more than being at a castle and ruling from a distance. It reminded him of his dad actually, which was probably why his dad–

Shinonome stumbled. He barely managed to correct himself through his pivot.

At any rate, he couldn’t wait to meet up with Siegbert and tell him how he had crossed swords with his father. Hell, he couldn’t wait to see his friend reunite with his father, period. He could already see the small smile that Siegbert would have. Honestly, the other boy needed to learn to relax. Would it kill him to grin? Not that they had much to smile about recently.

Everyone had dealt with the loss of their parents in their own ways; some had shared their stories and memories while others had not. He had the sense that Siegbert, while having mourned the loss of his parents, hadn’t been too devastated. But that didn’t mean the other boy wouldn’t be overjoyed at having a second chance to speak to his father. On the other hand, the last time he’d seen his father was when–

Shinonome lost his grip on Siegfried. It fell onto the dirt with a muffled thud.

The muscles in his arms burned.

He was panting heavily and his bare chest was soaked in sweat. 

Shinonome raised a trembling hand and covered his face. He hadn’t realized he had been increasing the speed of his katas until his body couldn’t handle it. He told himself that was the reason why his hands were shaking. It was the only reason.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe ou–

“Shinonome?”

Shinonome turned his head to see Foleo standing against the fence that marked out the training ground. The other boy was in clean clothes and looking refreshed after having had a chance to wash, eat, and nap. Clothes and food had been provided to them by the Nohrians when it was revealed that Shinonome’s group had nothing except for the clothes on their back (and their weapons).

He had opted out of borrowing any Nohrian clothing, being unfamiliar with it, but he had taken off the outer layers of his clothes to wash and repair, leaving him in nothing but his han-juban and pants. Though his han-juban was currently thrown over the fence, since he didn’t want it to get dirty as he trained.

“Are you okay?”

Foleo’s voice jolted Shinonome out of his thoughts and he realized he had just been standing there staring blankly at the other boy. There was a sympathetic light in Foleo’s eyes.

Shinonome pasted on a tired grin, “Yeah, I’m just peachy. What’re you doing here? I thought you were busy sewing.”

It had been hilarious seeing the look on the royals’ faces when they had asked Shinonome if the given accommodations suited him and his group, and Foleo had requested bolts of spare fabric.

Foleo had explained that he wanted to be able to repay the spare clothing they were given, but Shinonome knew that the other boy wanted to repair their clothes and make clothes for the others that were more familiar to them. Foleo was considerate like that; he also had the habit of sewing when stressed though. And stressful was the only way to describe their present situation.

“I was sewing but everyone, except for Gurei, is awake now. I came to get you,” Foleo said.

Shinonome nodded his thanks and then bent to pick Siegfried up, wincing as his arms protested the movement, before he went over to where Foleo was and vaulted over the fence.

Foleo looked at him disapprovingly, “You shouldn’t be stressing your body so soon after being healed.”

“Needed to clear my mind,” Shinonome replied. He set Siegfried aside and walked over to the barrel of water that was kept beside the training ground and cupped a handful of water, throwing it directly onto his face. He removed his headband as well and raked his hands through his damp hair.

The coldness of the water grounded him. He reminded himself to leave the past in the past; there were more important things to focus on right now.

Foleo held out a cloth to him and Shinonome thanked him before using it to wipe down his body. It was as he retied his headband, put on his han-juban, and rewrapped Siegfried up that the other boy spoke again.

“How is your hand?”

Shinonome glanced at the smooth skin of the hand that had been burnt, unconsciously flexing it. Thanks to Foleo’s healing, the burn had disappeared but the new skin that had been encouraged to grow was without any calluses. It was also red and sore from his recent training session, but nothing a day or two of rest wouldn’t heal.

“Great! Still a bit tender but I’m breaking it in.” Shinonome flashed a grin at Foleo, who shook his head exasperatedly.

The two of them started to head back to the large tent that everyone in their group was sharing. Shinonome had asked for one during the discussion about accommodations with the Nohrian royals and they had granted his request.

Honestly though, everyone was tense with awareness of this odd situation. Foleo had told him that, officially, it looked like they were being treated with hospitality as important guests but, unofficially, it looked like they were being held under subtle watch.

And that was why Shinonome didn’t realize something was wrong until they were halfway to the tent. He had been brushing off the stares he felt, assuming that it was the surveillance Foleo had spoken about or that people were staring at his obvious Hoshidan origins.

But Foleo was walking slower than usual, his hands clasped tightly in front of him and his eyes fixed on the ground in front of him.

Shinonome looked around, catching how the people that passed them would give Foleo second looks or outright stared. Undoubtedly they thought he was a woman at first glance, from the feminine cut of his tunic to his curled hair, until they noticed that he was lacking a figure and chest.

They had spent so much time on the run and having nothing on their minds except for survival that Shinonome had forgotten how Foleo had been when they first met. The other boy had been timid and soft-spoken, while Shinonome had been a jerk who laughed at Foleo’s interests.

It had taken being punched by Siegbert (one of the few times the other prince had thrown away decorum) and being healed by Foleo before he realized what an asshole he was being. Now he wouldn’t hesitate to call Foleo one of his most trusted friends.

Shinonome threw an arm around the other boy, tugging him into his side, and leveling a glare at anyone who stared too long.

“A-Ah! Shinonome, what are you doing?! I can’t walk like this!”

“Nothin’ much. Just realized I haven’t asked you how you were holding up. Especially after seeing…” Shinonome trailed off meaningfully.

Foleo put up a show of struggling but Shinonome’s grip was too strong, and so he subsided in the Hoshidan prince’s hold.

“As well as I can be I suppose.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“I’m not sure I have one. What do you want me to say? I thought I had made peace with my father’s death, but now he’s just right there…” Foleo started to twist the hem of his tunic. “He’s right there… and yet we couldn’t be farther apart. I’m nothing but a stranger to him.”

Shinonome wasn’t sure if he was the best person to ask for advice, or if Foleo was even asking for advice. But he couldn’t stand seeing the younger boy looking so lost.

“So?”

Foleo startled upon hearing his curt question and twisted to look up at him.

“Nothing is stopping you from getting closer to him, right? Introduce yourself. Talk to him. Then you won’t be strangers anymore. Hell, you have an advantage since you know everything he likes and dislikes.”

“Well, yes, but it’s not safe right now. We’re still under suspicion. We also have no idea where we are or what’s going on. And the others–”

“Foleo,” Shinonome gave Foleo an uncommonly serious look, “Do you really think the others would say something if you spoke to your father? We all–”

Shinonome cut himself off before his voice could rise any further. No. He didn’t want to lie to the other boy. Not all of them would leap at a chance to speak to their father.

He sighed and then ruffled Foleo’s hair, “Give it some thought. It looks like we’re going to be with them for a while anyway.”

Foleo slipped out of Shinonome’s hold, which had loosened, and fixed his hair with a scowl on his face. But at least the lost look on his face was gone and he also seemed to have forgotten the stares.

Just in time too as they came up to the tent that they shared with their friends. Shinonome was stopped before he could enter though.

“Hey, Shinonome?… Thank you.”

“Anytime.”

**—**

Shinonome entered the tent, followed by Foleo, and was greeted by the sight of his friends in various states of cautious rest around a small campfire that was lit in the middle.

It wasn’t his first time in Nohr but the weather still surprised him. Overcast and stormy more often than not, it wasn’t unusual for torches to be lit throughout the day just to provide light. Occasionally it was hard to tell the time, but Shinonome felt confident in guessing that it was already night.

At any rate, Mitama had her head in Kinu’s lap and she appeared to be dozing. Kinu was combing out Mitama’s hair, making sure the strands weren’t tangled, and she seemed to be rubbing some concoction onto Mitama’s hair which made it shine in the light of the fire.

Midoriko was beside them with her hair down, equally as lustrous. She had her medicine chest open beside her and seemed to be taking stock, if the marks she were making on a nearby paper were anything to go by.

Kanna was leaning against Shigure, also dozing, and the older boy was petting her head as he hummed quietly.

Gurei was in the corner and Shinonome was relieved to see that the other boy’s breathing was stronger than it had been earlier. He hoped Gurei recovered soon.

It was Kanna who noticed him and Foleo first.

“Shino! Foleo!!”

This was the first time the young girl had seen him since they appeared in this place, since she had fallen unconscious immediately after reverting from her dragon form and hadn’t woken up until now.

Kanna clambered to her feet and Shinonome quickly stepped forward to catch her when he saw her stumble. It looked like she still hadn’t fully recovered from her transformation.

Shinonome pulled her into a firm hug. “How’s my favorite girl doing?”

“Are you flirting with my sister?” Shigure asked, eyebrow raising.

“Shino! Wasn’t Kinu your favorite?!” Kinu pouted.

“Yes, I am,” Shinonome said casually to Shigure before turning to Kinu, “You’re my favorite fox.”

“Even if you are a prince, please don’t think you can take away my sister that easily!”

“Yay! Kinu is Shino’s favorite fox, ehehe!”

“Folly of young minds / honeyed words easy to trap / fluttering cute bees,” Mitama mumbled. “Stop moving your tail, Kinu, you’re striking up dust.”

“I’m a prince, I can do whatever I want,” Shinonome shot back to Shigure. Kanna giggled in his arms and held onto his clothes tightly.

Midoriko laughed at everyone’s conversation before turning to Shinonome. “And what about Midoriko? Midoriko isn’t Shinonome’s favorite?”

“Of course you are! You’re my favorite… uh… medicine girl!” Shinonome said. “Oh man, that’s nostalgic though. How long has it been since you spoke like that? If I remember correctly, you grew out of that habit when you got older.”

“Please don’t say it like that. I’m still young,” Midoriko sniffed.

“Could have fooled me.”

“I’d toss this bottle at you, but I’m afraid it’s worth more than that rock you call a head.”

“Hey! I’ll have you know that all of Hoshido would lay down their lives for this ro–”

Shinonome stopped, and then regretted stopping when everyone took notice of his pause and grew somber. Their banter had been fun while it lasted.

He supported Kanna to the campfire again, expecting the girl to return to her brother, but she continued to cling onto him. And so he chose to take a seat beside Shigure instead to keep Kanna between the two of them. Foleo took the empty space next to him.

Looking around the campfire, Shinonome felt something in him _clench_. The view was familiar. How many times had they done this? It was a ritual for them to gather around a campfire after a gruesome, long day and just relax in each other’s presence and bask in another day of being alive.

But for all the familiarity of this scene, there were too many missing faces. Their circle was too small. He kept looking across the fire and expecting to see another boy looking back at him.

Giving his head a brief shake, Shinonome cleared his throat. “Alright, we have a lot to talk about. Kinu, is it safe?”

The fox paused in her brushing of Mitama’s hair and tilted her head, swiveling her ears to face the outside of the tent. It was seconds before she looked back at him and nodded her head, “Kinu hears nothing and smells nothing!”

“Great.” He trusted the other’s enhanced senses. “I’m sure everyone’s noticed by now that we’re very far from home. In more ways than one. Presently, we’re in Nohr and at a time when the royal family of Nohr is alive. Yes, I know, I think it’s crazy too. No, I don’t know how we got here.”

“I don’t think you should say time,” Foleo corrected, “Uncle Marx was never crowned King during our time. And as far as I can remember, a ceasefire had never been signed between Nohr and Hoshido either. We never had the time to think about negotiations like that.”

Shinonome and Foleo exchanged grim looks. Out of everyone here, the two of them probably had the most memories about the political affairs that had been going on during that time. Even though Mitama was his cousin, and the eldest princess, she slept through all her lessons and didn’t care about her royal status.

Midoriko hummed thoughtfully, “The royal family of Nohr is alive again… but not how Foleo remembers them. Things have happened here… that never happened in our time. I don’t think we’d be wrong in calling this a… different world.”

Silence.

Shinonome struggled to accept that point; but it wasn’t as hard as he thought it’d be. Perhaps a part of him already knew that they had been displaced.

Beside him, Shigure stiffened and raised a hand to grip at the pendant around his neck.

“That… would make sense. I mean, it explains how Shinonome still has Siegfried and how I have Brynhildr. If we went back in time then I would imagine that the future versions of the legendary weapons we brought would disappear so that the past versions of these legendary weapons could become the future ones,” Foleo murmured.

“Right, there would be so many paradoxes if we had gone back in time. Another point for the alternate world theory is that we haven’t disappeared out of existence despite having affected so many events.”

“Okay, stop, both of you! I’m getting a headache,” Shinonome groaned. “I believe it. It makes too much sense not to believe.”

“Another world? Yippee,” Mitama drawled.

“What does that mean?” Kinu tilted her head.

Shinonome opened his mouth and then closed it. What _did_ that mean?

“It means that anything that happened in our world might not happen here,” Foleo concluded with dawning frustration. “And anything that happens in this world might not lead to where we think it does. Even the people could be different! Who knows what being King has done to Uncle Marx. Even father could be…”

Shinonome stiffened when the other boy started to pale. “Hold on just a second, Foleo. You don’t know that for sure!”

He shot a look at Midoriko for help but she only shrugged helplessly at him, also looking a bit pale. “Theoretically, anything can happen in another world.”

“I for one would welcome a different father,” Mitama said.

“Not helping,” Shinonome hissed.

“Does that mean papa and mama won’t be papa and mama?” Kanna asked, her eyes going wide.

“No, they still will,” Shigure reassured her, “I don’t believe the core of a person could change that much. Even between worlds.”

Shinonome was surprised by the confidence in Shigure’s words, but he would accept anything right now that would help calm the others down.

Foleo regained some of the color back in his face. “F-Father was acting like how I remember him to be… against enemies. Uncle Marx and Aunt Camilla seemed to be the same too.”

“Alright, look, we’ll drive ourselves crazy if we try to imagine all the possibilities out there,” Shinonome said, “Let’s just go off of what we know for now: Nohr exists, Hoshido exists, there’s a ceasefire between the two countries, both seem to have a royal family, and Matoi and the others have been captured by bandits.”

“Ignore the what ifs and focus on getting the others back?” Shigure deduced.

“Yep.”

Shinonome took another look around the campfire, seeing how everyone was reacting to the recent revelations and his suggestion in their own way. He himself had foolishly assumed that everything in this world would be more or less the same as they had been in their world. But now there was a chance that his dad might not even be– Shinonome shook his head violently.

Only two things were clear in his mind and he chose to focus on them.

One: now, more than ever, they only had each other to rely on in this strange world. Two: he really, really needed to find the others.


	5. Chapter 5

**ACT IV.**

Siegbert gave the bracer in his hand one final swipe with a cloth before setting it aside. He then reached for its matching pair and started the meticulous process of cleaning that one as well.

The large room was quiet except for the sounds of him cleaning his armor, Soleil’s grunts as she went through a set of one-armed push-ups, and the soft breathing of their friends at rest.

From his estimate, it had been a day and a half since he and his group had been escorted to Fort Jinya, no doubt one of many forts that the Hoshidans had in order to protect their country.

He had accepted King Ryouma’s offer and relinquished all of their weapons to the Hoshidans in order to have his friends receive the medical care that they needed, and now they were all resting peacefully. Dwyer had told him that they would wake up within the next few days. Of course, the butler had been adamant about being in the room while the Hoshidan healers did their work.

Fortunately, they had been allowed to keep everything else aside from their weapons and so Siegbert was going through the time-consuming task of cleaning his armor and checking to see if it needed repairs.

His armor was covered in scratches and shallow grooves (there was a terrible dent in his breastplate that made his chest ache with phantom pain), but he was lucky in that most of it was still functional. However, the leather straps for his bracers were worn and becoming thin. He had noticed recently that his bracers sat loose; it looked like he would need to replace the straps soon before they–

“Okay, when are we going to address the wyvern in the room?”

Siegbert lifted his eyes from his task to see Soleil finishing up her last push-up before she sat down cross-legged, rotating her left arm which she had been strengthening. She caught the towel that Dwyer threw her and dabbed at her face absently as she gave him an expectant look.

Dwyer was lying on the ground a little ways away from them, head pillowed by an arm that he had crossed behind his head. Beside him Lutz was yawning his way through his own armor maintenance, having imitated Siegbert when he saw what the older boy was doing, but he stopped to look at them when Soleil spoke.

“What do you mean?” Siegbert asked, returning his eyes to his bracers again.

"What I mean is that you’ve been brooding since this morning. Did you know this is the second time you’ve wiped down those bracers?”

“… really?” he blinked, “And I haven’t been brooding. I’ve been thinking–”

“When it’s you, they’re both the same thing.” Soleil sighed, “Look, I’ve been thinking about what’s been going on too and I believe… we’re in another world.”

She paused, probably to gauge their reactions, and then continued on quickly.

"It sounds crazy I know but that’s the only explanation for how Shinonome and Kisaragi’s fathers are alive, along with Uncle Marx and Uncle Leon, and how nothing is the way we remember it; Nohr and Hoshido never had a ceasefire, and Uncle Marx hadn’t been crowned king before he–” Soleil stopped herself with a glance at Siegbert. “Anyway, do you guys believe me?”

Siegbert cleared his throat, “… Yes, that’s the exact conclusion that I came to.”

“Same here,” Dwyer said. “It’s also too much work not to believe you.”

“Um… I’m not really good at thinking about these things, but if Siegbert and Dwyer believe that too then it must be true, right?” Lutz looked at all of them.

Soleil threw her hands up. “If you two already thought about this then why didn’t you guys say anything earlier?! I spent so much time coming up with a way to talk about it without sounding crazy!”

“I thought it’d be better to tell everyone at the same time,” Siegbert said defensively.

“I knew Siegbert would take care of it,” Dwyer replied.

“No, that’s just you being lazy,” Soleil retorted. “Well, Siegbert, if you aren’t bothered by being in another world then why exactly have you been brooding?”

“I didn’t say I wasn’t bothered about being in another world,” Siegbert said exasperatedly, “but it’s not like we can do anything about that. And I told you that I haven’t been– nevermind.”

He hesitated on whether or not to reveal his concerns to them. On one hand, it wasn’t urgent for them to know and telling them could just make them worry unnecessarily. Moreover, he was well aware of how his habit of considering every possibility sometimes caused the others distress.

On the other hand, he recognized that expression on Soleil and knew that she would be persistent in wrangling an answer out of him. And he knew exactly how persistent she could be, having heard her argue with Eponine for hours on end about things he’d rather forget ever having heard.

“I’ve been thinking about Kisaragi… and how we haven’t seen him around,” Siegbert admitted.

Ever since the other boy let it slip that he was Prince Takumi’s son, the Hoshidans had basically taken him away from them. It also hadn’t escaped Siegbert’s attention at how Kisaragi was the only one who was allowed to keep a weapon, his version of the Fujin Yumi. Of course Kisaragi deserved a chance to talk to his father; Siegbert wouldn’t deny anyone that, but–

“Isn’t he just catching up with his dad?” Lutz asked. “I bet the two of them have tons of things to talk about!”

Siegbert tried to smile, but he was sure it came out as more of a grimace. "That’s where my concern lies…”

“Huh?” Lutz tilted his head.

Dwyer sat up stiffly and looked at Siegbert.

Siegbert answered Dwyer’s unspoken question, “In the end Kisaragi is still a Prince of Hoshido. You would know that best, Dwyer. You’ve always been strict on him to act more befittingly of his station.” He’s certain Dwyer would have been the same to Mitama if she hadn’t threatened to do him bodily harm if he interrupted her naps.

“Siegbert!” Soleil’s voice was sharp. “You aren’t implying that…”

He didn’t reply.

“Siegbert!!” Soleil demanded a response.

“W-What’s going on? What’s Siegbert implying?” Lutz shrank into himself, not liking how angry Soleil seemed to be with Siegbert.

Dwyer explained flatly, “He’s implying that Kisaragi is going to have to pick whether he wants to stay with us or stay with his father and that, because Kisaragi is a Hoshidan prince, he’ll feel the need to pick his father.”

"I don’t get it. Why does he need to pick? We’re here right now, aren’t we? Can’t he stay with us _and_ his dad?”

"Exactly! Why are you talking as if they’re mutually exclusive.” Soleil crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes.

Siegbert refrained from glaring back, but frustration was evident on his face. “Don’t be dense, Soleil! You’re royalty too, so you know the responsibilities that come with that. What if King Ryouma or Kisaragi’s father demands him to tell them everything he knows about us? They would find out that not only do they have the First Prince of Nohr but also the First and Second Princess of Nohr.”

“What does that matter? There’s a ceasefire between Nohr and Hoshido. It’s not like they can–”

“A ceasefire is no guarantee of anything! At most it might lead to talks about long-term peace; but when they find out they have three members of Nohrian royalty what’s to stop them from using us as bargaining chips?”

Soleil’s mouth dropped open. “Aren’t you being too cynical?!”

“Aren’t you being too optimistic?” Siegbert shot back. “To serve and protect the country of Nohr and its people; that’s what it means to be the First Prince of Nohr. Even if this is another world, so long as the country of Nohr exists then I am sworn to protect it in whatever way I can.”

He believed this… truly. But there was a part of him that whispered at another possibility, one which he turned a blind eye towards because if it were true then… No. He refused to think about it.

Soleil clenched her fists and continued to argue, “But do you really believe they would do that? No, do you really believe that Kisaragi would _let_ them?!”

Siegbert gritted his teeth. “Do you think I want to? I would trust Kisaragi with my life. But put yourself in his position. What would you do if my father and your mother commanded you to tell them everything about Shinonome and the others?”

He could tell he struck a chord when she turned pale, but he needed to impress his point on her… on all of them. They needed to understand that while things seemed peaceful right now they were still in danger, just in a different form. And that, one day, they might find themselves having to stand against their friend.

Or friends, his mind ominously whispered. He wondered what Shinonome would have chosen to do if he had been here as well, but Siegbert shied away from thinking too deeply on that. What ifs were dangerous. At any rate, now that the topic was brought up, he needed to prepare everyone for this possibility.

He opened his mouth, ready to continue pressing his point, but he was interrupted by Lutz crying out, “Please, stop! Don’t fight anymore!”

Siegbert turned his head and saw Lutz half-pressed against Dwyer with a frightened look on his face. As usual, it was hard to read Dwyer’s expression; the other boy was wearing a blank look on his face, but he had an arm curled protectively around Lutz.

A sudden sense of shame struck Siegbert. What was he doing? Especially arguing in front of Lutz when he knew that the younger boy was sensitive to these things. He also knew already that Soleil wouldn’t see things his way; he should have just borne his concerns in silence.

Siegbert dropped the bracer and cloth he had still been holding and allowed himself to scrub his hands down his face. “I’m sorry, Soleil, I didn’t mean to go off like that… I just…”

He was worried. He wanted them to be prepared for anything. But they shouldn’t have to bear the burden of his concerns. It was his responsibility as the eldest, and their leader, to shield them from this. And what a great job of that he was doing.

Siegbert raised his head, wanting to apologize again to Soleil, but instead he was surprised to see that she had turned an alarming shade of white. “Soleil?”

The others seemed to realize something was wrong too when Soleil began to tremble faintly.

“Soleil, are you okay?” Dwyer asked.

“… n’t remember… I can’t remember my mother.”

Soleil’s voice was small and Siegbert could barely catch her words, but when he did he recoiled in shock. That’s impossible, he wanted to exclaim. If it had been Lutz who said that then he might have believed it, since the younger boy had lost his mother at an early age and probably had few memories of her.

But Soleil was only a year younger than him. There was no way she could have forgotten her mother, especially when he remembered his…

…

…… H-Huh?

Who _was_ his mother?

Siegbert could feel the blood leaving his face as he searched frantically through his memories. He couldn’t remember his mother. He couldn’t recall any of her features. What was her hair color? Her eye color?

It was strange how the memories he had of his father were in crisp detail: the noble cant of his head, the strength in his eyes, and the silhouette of him on his horse. But remembering his mother was like trying to pick someone out at the bottom of a lake. His memories were indistinct. Hazy. Blurred.

There were fragments though: he could remember a calm voice reading to him, gentle hands on his shoulders, a warm smell that surrounded him whenever she held him, and the soft pressure of lips against his forehead.

He just… couldn’t remember what she looked like. Or her name.

Siegbert chanced a look at Dwyer and Lutz, who must have tried the same thing he did because they both looked pale as well. Dwyer, in particular, was especially ashen and biting his lip almost hard enough to make it bleed.

Soleil’s breathing started to quicken and her trembling worsened. “Why can’t I remember?!”

Siegbert took a deep breath, shoving his own panic and confusion deep into the corner of his mind, before he moved towards Soleil and grabbed her limp hands tightly in his. “Soleil, look at me. Look at me! Do you remember all the etiquette lessons we had together? You’re definitely my cousin, and there’s no mistaking that hair color. Aunt Camilla must be your mother.”

It was terrifying how he couldn’t actually recall any instance of Aunt Camilla being Soleil’s mother, and yet he could remember his aunt perfectly: her dark humor, her love for her family, and her protectiveness. Whenever he tried to recall Soleil with her mother, he could only see the vague silhouette of a woman in his mind’s eye. But the violet hair that they both shared was unmistakable; they had to be related.

Soleil swallowed heavily. “I… I can remember Camilla… no, mother? But while I can remember the woman I don’t seem to have any memories of her as my mother. It’s like… there’s this haze; whenever I try to remember my mother I only remember that she was beautiful.”

She shook her head.

“But I definitely remember our lessons together, and I remember the times my dad would joke about the increase in his duties now that he was part of the royal family…”

“I know I could remember my mother before,” Dwyer interrupted. “Which means that this didn’t happen until we arrived here.”

Lutz looked at him with wide eyes. “You mean we lost our memories? But why? And how? I don’t remember bumping my head.”

They had all these questions but no answers, and no idea where to start even if they wanted answers. Siegbert pressed his lips together and looked at everyone, but they were all lost in their own thoughts.

The tense atmosphere was suddenly broken by a woman who came to stand outside the sliding doors to their room.

“Excuse my intrusion. Prince Siegbert, King Ryouma would like to extend an invitation to you to tea.”

Siegbert hesitated, not liking the idea of leaving his friends at this moment, but he felt Soleil squeeze his hands. When he looked at her, she gave him a strained smile. “Go, we’ll be fine.”

He eyed her for a second before glancing over at Dwyer, who gave him a curt nod. The butler would look after them in Siegbert’s absence.

"Thank you. I accept King Ryouma’s invitation.”

“If you would please follow me then, Prince Siegbert.”

The shadow behind the sliding doors bowed and moved to the side, waiting for him to exit. Siegbert got to his feet and headed to the doors, but he cast one last look back at his friends.

Soleil was looking down at her hands, smile gone. Dwyer was speaking quietly to Lutz, both their heads lowered.

**—**

Siegbert found himself being led in silence.

His guide walked in front of him, her long black hair swaying with each step. She made no efforts to engage him in conversation and, honestly, he wasn’t sure he could have held one properly either.

He was still shaken from the earlier discovery of their loss of memories; however, knowing that he was soon going to meet with King Ryouma, he used this small respite to shove everything to the back of his mind to be processed later.

There was nothing but the sound of his footsteps on the stone pathway.

Feeling himself calm, at least marginally, Siegbert took a closer look at his surroundings. When they had first arrived at Fort Jinya the sun had been setting and he had been too preoccupied with watching over his friends as they were carried in on wagons to take more than a cursory glance at the fort. And, since then, he had remained inside the rooms assigned to them, waiting for his friends to wake.

From what he could see, the fort was divided into sections with various buildings in each section. The buildings didn’t seem to be organized in any discernible way though; they were placed randomly and his guide had taken him pass three weapon storehouses already. But as he was led past a building he was sure he had seen before, he realized that the configuration of the buildings was to confuse invaders.

At last he and his guide arrived in front of a modest building that looked no different from the others on the outside. Nothing about the building showed that it was housing the King of Hoshido, but that was probably the point. However, when they entered he could see a subtle opulence in the decorations within the building.

Siegbert and his guide removed their footwear before she led him through the hallways and brought him to a closed shoji screen.

She bowed and announced, “Prince Siegbert has arrived, King Ryouma.”

"Thank you, send him in.”

She bowed again to the screen before opening it.

Siegbert kept himself relaxed as he met the eyes of King Ryouma. The king was sitting casually at a low table in the center of the spacious room, his legs crossed. The shoji screens on the other side had been opened fully, revealing an idyllic courtyard, which he had probably been looking at while waiting for them to arrive.

“Please, take a seat.” Ryouma gestured to the empty space in front of him across the table.

Siegbert crossed the room to take the seat and lowered himself to sit in seiza, which earned him a raised eyebrow from Ryouma. Siegbert quietly thanked Shinonome in his head for having taught him Hoshidan customs when they had been curious about each other’s country one day.

“Thank you for the invitation, King Ryouma.”

Ryouma dismissed his polite words with a wave of his hand. “Let’s not stand on ceremony. The titles can be quite a mouthful and this is just tea, nothing official.”

Siegbert wasn’t reassured at all by Ryouma’s smile, but he nodded.

Out of the corner of his eyes he noticed that his guide had also entered the room and seated herself at a small table off to the side where she began making the tea.

“I hope the accommodations are to your liking? If there’s anything you or your companions need, please don’t hesitate to ask and I’ll see what I can do.”

“Yes, the hospitality that we’ve received is more than we could have possibly asked for. In particular, thank you for arranging a room large enough for all my companions.”

“Say no more. Sakura, my youngest sister, would have preferred keeping them in the infirmary to care for them but, as I understand it, you would prefer to keep an eye on them yourself.”

Siegbert reminded himself to continue breathing evenly as he locked eyes with Ryouma. Was he implying anything with those words? Did Kisaragi tell them anything about him and the others?

“It would be better for them to wake to familiar faces,” Siegbert said simply.

The moment was broken when his guide came over to them, having finished preparing the tea, and presented to each of them a shallow bowl of tea. Ryouma turned towards her to receive his bowl, breaking eye contact, and Siegbert seized this chance to study the man.

He had strong features that were softened by a face which was free with its expressions; however, it didn’t escape Siegbert’s notice on how hard it was to read the other man’s eyes. He wasn’t to be underestimated. There was also a presence to Ryouma that reminded Siegbert of his father, a tacit nobility that Siegbert could only hope he would possess one day.

Siegbert averted his eyes when it was his turn to receive a bowl and he inclined his head in appreciation.

"Thank you, Kagerou,” Ryouma said to the woman who had been Siegbert’s guide, and she bowed to him before returning to her seat.

It was when she moved away silently though that Siegbert finally realized something which had been nagging at him ever since he entered the room. King Ryouma was alone.

He would have thought the King of Hoshido would have guards stationed outside or inside this room. At the very least, Ryouma should be attended to by more than just one servant. Granted, Siegbert was unarmed but that didn’t mean he still couldn’t pose a threat to their king.

Glancing over the room again as Ryouma lowered his head to drink from his tea, Siegbert recalled something that Eponine had taught him. Things were never as they seemed and one should always take a closer look at the small things.

Kagerou had made no noise when she brought him to King Ryouma. And when she presented the tea to him and Ryouma he had seen calluses on her fingers; her hands had been absolutely steady as well. She wasn’t just a mere servant. Another Hoshidan ninja? One who served Ryouma personally?

“Lovely view, isn’t it?”

Siegbert refocused his attention on Ryouma to see that the man had turned his head to the courtyard. He followed Ryouma’s gaze to the small patch of sky that could be seen from their seats.

It was very blue.

Siegbert looked away and took a drink from his tea. “Yes, you have wonderful weather here.”

“I heard from Kisaragi that it’s been a long time since either of you have seen such clear weather.”

Siegbert’s mouth turned dry, despite him having just taken a drink. “… Yes, that’s true.”

Ryouma tilted the bowl he had in his hand, swirling the tea gently. “He told his father and me many stories as well… Are they all true?”

“… What did he tell you?”

Ryouma gave a closed smile at his response.

“He told us stories about an enormous dragon and how it turned the world to fire and ashes. Honestly, it sounds like a fantastical tale. Dragons have long since disappeared from these lands; only us royals still have trace amounts of those bloodlines…” Ryouma paused, observing him. "But you would know about that already.”

Siegbert weighed his options. He had no idea what Kisaragi had told them, so he was hesitant to confirm things blindly. However, on the off chance that Kisaragi had told them nothing of importance, he risked revealing more than he wanted to by speaking about their circumstances.

On the other hand, he could take the opening Ryouma had left him and claim the other boy had been exaggerating. But did Ryouma leave that opening deliberately? And if he did, for what purpose?

“Whatever Kisaragi has told you,” Siegbert said slowly, “is all true.”

Ryouma hummed and regarded him with amusement. Siegbert was struck abruptly by how similar Ryouma’s eyes were to Shinonome’s. It wasn’t a surprise to see the same shade of grey look out at him from an unfamiliar face, since the two were related, but both of their eyes held a sharpness that reminded him of a blade. Keen enough to pierce. He was certain Ryouma knew exactly what he was doing with his responses.

“When we first met you said you had been given the Raijinto by my son… Shinonome, was it? Tell me about him. What is he like?”

Siegbert startled at the unexpected change in topic and was glad that he had placed his bowl on the table earlier.

"He’s, um, a great man and a good friend. I wouldn’t hesitate to trust him with my life.” He struggled to regain his equilibrium under Ryouma’s eyes, but he felt increasingly restless at the other man’s impassive face.

He could still remember with stark clarity the look on Shinonome’s face whenever he spoke about his father. It was like looking at a mirror; the admiration, the yearning for acknowledgement, and the fear of never measuring up.

And so, against his better judgement, Siegbert continued on, “He’s an amazing leader and strong enough to protect those he cares about. He’s also managed to remain kind in a world that had forgotten how to be kind. He’s a prince that anyone would be proud to call theirs.”

Siegbert searched Ryouma’s eyes when he finished talking but, much to his frustration, they were unreadable. He didn’t have the slightest idea as to what the other man thought or felt towards the fact that he had a son out there.

“He sounds admirable. You must want to go searching for him and the others. Hoshido is willing to aid you, for I too would like to meet my son, and after your companions heal we could arrange for search parties with one of your people in each group to identify–”

“No!”

Siegbert interrupted in a voice louder than he intended. He could see Kagerou stiffening in her corner, hands sliding to the edges of her clothes. Ryouma paused and raised an eyebrow.

He understood Ryouma’s reasoning. It would be more expedient to split up and send as many search parties as they could, but how could he possibly allow his friends to be alone in an entire Hoshidan party. Ryouma knew nothing if he thought Siegbert trusted him enough to allow his friends to be separated from him. Who knows what could happen.

“Thank you for the offer but I must decline. My companions and I already have plans. Of course, we will repay you somehow for your hospitality.”

Ryouma placed his tea down on the table and leaned forward. “Pray tell, what plans? You have no resources. I mentioned that there was no prince in Nohr except for Prince Leon. Do you believe the Nohrians would recognize you and offer help?”

Siegbert froze but he forced himself to pick up his tea. He prided himself on how his hands didn’t tremble and took a drink.

It was bitter.

Ryouma continued, “Earlier you said the stories Kisaragi told us were true. If that’s the case then you and your companions come from another world. Essentially, none of you exist here. There is no one who knows you. You have no place to go. Nowhere to belong.”

There it was. The dark possibility which Siegbert had turned a blind eye towards. He hadn’t wanted to think about it. Hadn’t wanted to imagine the indifferent eyes of his parents and his countrymen. Where could he and the others go?

Acknowledging the possibility that they could meet with indifferent eyes meant acknowledging that there was a chance they were truly nothing but… strangers in this world. Outsiders adrift with no home to return to.

Ryouma was right… Where _could_ they go?

Siegbert didn’t know. He didn’t have an answer.

He noticed Ryouma’s eyes drop and he followed the other man’s gaze to see that his hands had curled inadvertently into fists, his knuckles white from the pressure.

Siegbert consciously relaxed, opening his hands and pressing his palms down on the table. He ignored Ryouma and reminded himself to breathe slowly. There were birds chirping outside and the breeze that occasionally blew in was warm. A wind chime must have been attached nearby because he could also hear the quiet tinkling of bells.

His legs were numb.

He realized now that he had made a fatal mistake ever since he entered the room. He had looked at Ryouma and seen him as Shinonome’s father. But that wasn’t quite correct, was it? For all the similarities that they might have, this Ryouma wasn’t the one who Shinonome grew up with and learned under. This person was the King of Hoshido.

“… I’m afraid I’ve been away from my companions for too long. I should return soon before they start worrying,” Siegbert’s voice was hollow.

It was extremely rude of him to cut short this meeting between them, especially when he was the guest. He could see Kagerou’s hand curl into a fist at the imagined slight to her king.

But Ryouma only smiled at him. “I apologize for keeping you so long then. Please, send my regards to your companions, and I hope we’ll have another chance to speak again soon, Prince Siegbert.”

"Thank you. It was a pleasure to have tea with you, King Ryouma.”

At a gesture from Ryouma, Kagerou stood up and prepared to guide him back to his friends. Siegbert followed her out into the hall, but he cast one last look back at the room just in time to see a red-haired ninja, Saizou, appear in the courtyard and hand Ryouma a scroll.

**—**

His walk back to his friends was a blur.

He barely remembered thanking his guide, Kagerou, and giving some kind of greeting to Soleil, Dwyer, and Lutz, before he passed them and headed into one of the rooms set aside for him and the others.

Sliding the shoji screen shut, he managed three steps before his legs crumbled and he sunk down to his knees, shaking violently. He pressed the palms of his hands against his eyes harshly and clenched his teeth hard enough to hurt to stop them from chattering.

His chest hurt. He couldn’t breathe. His eyes stung. He couldn’t breathe.

For his entire life everything he did was under the expectation that he would be the future king of Nohr. It had been an inevitable fact. And in their destroyed world, he had been driven by the purpose of protecting the remnants of his country and his people so that they would have a place to return to.

But if that was no longer the case… if their home no longer existed… then what was the point of them being here? Ryouma had a point; the Nohrians of this world had no reason to recognize him as being one of their princes. And so much of who he was had been tied up in being a prince and bearing those responsibilities. Without that… who was he?

Siegbert dropped a hand to twist it in his shirt, right above his heart. He sucked in a harsh breath. He couldn’t let the others see him like this…

The others. His mind latched onto those words. The others were all he had now. They were the only links he had to the world they left behind and he was still their protector. He would make sure they were safe and well, which meant that he needed to speak to Kisaragi and find Shinonome and the others.

It must have been minutes later, after he calmed himself down, that Siegbert heard footsteps come to a stop in front of his door.

“Siegbert? Can I come in?” It was Soleil.

Siegbert moved to sit against a wall and closed his eyes. “Go–” His voice was hoarse. He cleared it and tried again, “… Go ahead.”

He heard the sliding door open and Soleil stepped in, shutting it. There was a pause before she came over to him and took a seat beside him.

“How is everyone doing?” He asked.

“As well as we can be in this situation. You don’t want to know how long Dwyer and I spent comforting Lutz. More importantly though, how are _you_ doing?”

“… Fine.”

“Don’t pull that with me. How long have we known each other? You look the definition of anything but fine. Was the talk with King Ryouma that bad?”

His breath hitched. “I don’t want to talk about it right now.”

“No secrets,” Soleil reminded him, “You’re going to have to tell us one day.”

“I will once everyone wakes up. It’s… not something I want to repeat.”

“Alright, but don’t brood over it too much. You have this awful habit, you know? You see the worst in everything and I know you’re just trying to protect us, but don’t keep everything locked up inside.” Soleil leaned into him, pressing her shoulder against his. “You should try smiling sometimes, it’ll make you feel better.”

“Invoking your family motto?”

“Hey! You’re family too,” she nudged his shoulder, “and don’t knock it ‘til you try it.”

Her words startled a laugh out of him and he opened his eyes to see her peering at him.

“Oh, look, you’re smiling! Don’t you feel better now?”

“You’re just seeing things,” Siegbert said but he made no attempt to hide his smile.

She huffed at him in disbelief but kept her silence when he pressed his shoulder back against hers firmly. She was a warm presence beside him as they spent their time together in a comfortable silence.

“… You know what?” Soleil suddenly asked.

“Hm?”

“… Ophelia is going to freak.”

Siegbert snorted.


	6. Chapter 6

**INTERLUDE: KISARAGI.**

Kisaragi bounded down the street ahead of his dad, Takumi, and turned his head to and fro to take in all the sights.

Guards on the wall. The bustle of people on the streets. Noise from lively conversations. The smell of armories, stables, and food. Bright colors in open stalls selling all sorts of things, everyone wearing elaborate clothing, and - above all else - the blue, blue, _blue_ sky. And did he mention all the _people_!?

Kisaragi had to stop for a moment just to toss his head back, close his eyes, and breathe in. He wanted to grin. (He was unmistakably grinning). He wanted to shout. (He, fortunately, held back from that). He wanted to find the highest point in this fort, climb up there, and just _stare_ at everything. (He vibrated with the energy he was keeping in check so that he wouldn’t run off on his dad; which, speaking of him–).

“… Kisaragi?”

Kisaragi lowered his head to see Takumi staring at him with an indecipherable expression. He tilted his head questioningly.

“You’re blocking the street.”

“Huh? Oh, whoops.” Kisaragi shuffled to the side to where his dad was standing and grinned sheepishly at the people who had been moving around him.

Takumi crossed his arms and turned to watch the streets. “It looks like you weren’t lying when you told your story to my brother and me. At least about your origins. Only a Hoshidan could find their way around this place so easily.”

“Ehehe,” Kisaragi scratched his nose, a shy grin on his face, “It’s because I’ve already been around to most of the forts! You took– or, well, the other you took me to them often!”

Takumi opened his mouth, as if wanting to comment, but he hesitated and then ultimately decided to say nothing, closing his mouth. Kisaragi had already turned away though and missed this; his nose was raised to the air.

“Is that…?” Kisaragi suddenly took off down the street, leaving his dad’s alarmed shout behind him.

Kisaragi soon came to a stop in front of a stall, manned by an old woman, and stared at the rows upon rows of steaming _manjuu_. His dad caught up to him an instant later with a terrible scowl on his face.

“Kisaragi! You know you’re not supposed to go running off!”

For a second, his vision doubled. He saw a younger version of himself grinning innocently at his dad and crossing his arms behind his head. He always used to run off like this whenever anything caught his attention; it had made his dad furious but the affection and love in his dad’s eyes never disappeared, even when he was scolding him.

Kisaragi found himself repeating the same motions in the present, right down to the same innocent grin. However, he had to deliberately ignore the look of polite distance in Takumi’s eyes.

“Sorry! It’s just been so long since I’ve had one of these. Can we get some? They’re your favorites too, right?”

Takumi glanced at the _manjuu_ and a look of confusion flashed over his face. “No, not particularly.”

Kisaragi paused, his smile dimming. “Oh… oh, um, I must have remembered wrong then. It’s been such a long time… nevermind.”

He laughed awkwardly and started to turn away from the stall, but his dad stepped forward and passed him to greet the shopkeeper and take out a pouch of coins. He stared at his dad, but if his dad felt his eyes on him he showed no reaction.

“Could I get two of those?” Takumi pointed to the ones he wanted.

“Of course, Prince Takumi. And who is this young man?” The old woman smiled at Kisaragi as she placed each _manjuu_ into a paper sleeve. “If I didn’t know better I would have thought we had another prince. Why, I’ve only seen those eyes and nose in the royal family–”

“He’s one of my brother’s visiting guests and I’ve been tasked with showing him around,” Takumi returned her smile, close-lipped, and said nothing more on the subject as he exchanged his coins for the food, “Thank you, and have a nice day.”

Takumi inclined his head and then walked off briskly, leaving the old woman to shake her head after him fondly. “That boy… always in a rush,” she said as she turned to Kisaragi again, “Best head on after him before you lose him.”

“Thank you, auntie!” Kisaragi grinned back before rushing to catch up to his dad.

As he came up beside Takumi he was tossed one of the _manjuu_ , which he caught and then bit into carefully. He had to close his eyes at the burst of sweetness from the hot red bean paste as it spread across his mouth. Something warm settled in his chest. Just how long had it been since he had eaten one of these?

And suddenly it occurred to him what he had missed the most in his world. He had missed this sense of peace that he could feel from everyone in this fort. There were still patrols and guards (in case of bandits or wild animals) but no one had a look of weariness or hopelessness. The people were _smiling_.

Most of all he could see how people would stop and greet his dad with admiration and respect as the two of them walked through the streets. He had to swallow his food through a tight throat, and if his dad noticed his damp eyes he made no mention of it.

Kisaragi made quick work of the rest of his treat, blinking his eyes rapidly, before he threw the paper sleeve away into a trash bin. It was as delicious as he remembered and he made a mental note to bring some for the others.

Speaking of the others, he had been told, by his dad, that he and Uncle Ryouma were still deciding on what to do with them. Overall Kisaragi wasn’t too worried though, and he felt that his friends would soon be allowed to walk freely through the fort, albeit under discreet supervision. His dad and uncle seemed to believe him when he told them the bare details of his and his friends’ circumstances.

For now Kisaragi put those thoughts aside (it wasn’t like he could do anything at this moment) and eyed the _manjuu_ his dad was still eating. Feeling his fingers twitch, he laced them behind his head and cleared his throat, “So, why didn’t you let that auntie know who I was?”

“Brother decided to keep it on a need-to-know basis.” Takumi took a bite out of his food. “Do you mind if I ask a question?”

“Nope, ‘course not! Go ahead!”

“You spoke about how both Hoshido and Nohr were destroyed. Could you tell me more about that? What happened to Ryouma? To me and my sisters?” Takumi frowned and stared off into the distance, as if he were already imagining the size of the force needed to destroy Hoshido and how to counteract that.

Kisaragi was suddenly glad that he had finished his _manjuu_ earlier because he could feel his appetite dwindle to nothing. “… Those aren’t happy memories.”

“Please,” Takumi looked at him, “I deserve to know.”

Kisaragi hesitated, caught by his dad’s eyes. This world wasn’t like his world, so there wasn’t really a need for his dad to know. But his dad deserved to know what happened to him– another version of him… didn’t he? He wasn’t good at thinking about these kind of things and preferred to go with his gut instinct; unfortunately, it felt like his guts were twisting themselves into a tight, nauseous ball.

If Siegbert were in his position he would… not tell Takumi a single thing and would keep his secrets close to his chest. Kisaragi mentally frowned at that. But if he himself was in his dad’s position then he would want to know.

Kisaragi decided to compromise.

“Our borders were attacked by these… creatures. Not the Faceless,” he said quickly when he saw his dad’s eyes narrow, “We called them invisible enemies because they would fade in and out of sight. Uncle Ryouma took the main army to the plains, west of the capital, where the fighting was the worst. We were in the south, close to the Wind Tribe, when we heard that he was killed–”

“Killed!? By who?!”

“Uhm, Shinonome.”

“Shinonome… isn’t that the name of his son!?” Takumi’s face darkened as he hissed, “Kinslayer.”

Kisaragi faltered and, for a second, was unsure as to why his dad was so angry until he replayed what he said in his mind. He paled. “Wait, no, it’s not what you’re thinking! By then Uncle Ryouma was dead already!”

“… What?”

“He–It… Who we were fighting… could bring back the dead,” Kisaragi couldn’t look at his dad as he spoke. He stared straight ahead at the distant training grounds as they moved from the busy streets onto a quiet side path. “Uncle Ryouma was one of the first. He was… we… no one could stop him. Only Shinonome could… and he did.”

“Where was Hinoka–”

“She was in the north, defending the borders there. At that time Aunt Sakura was still in the capital.”

Takumi fell silent for a beat before speaking again, slowly, as if he was choosing his words with the utmost care. “And… what happened to me? Did I become like Ryouma?”

Kisaragi stared at his dad, his tongue leaden. He couldn’t say. He had thought that he could tell his dad everything that had happened to him but now that the moment was upon him he was frozen.

_His hands were trembling. How many days had it been? He felt like it had been years since he had last slept. Most likely it was only a few days since he had split off from the others though, not wanting them to have to face his da– the sniper along with Prince Leo– the dark knight, whose magic made him a terrifying opponent to face already._

_He blinked hard, ignoring the accompanying sting in his eyes. He was so tired. But he couldn’t let himself sleep. Any slip of attention would cost him his life; the dull pain in his side and the stiffness of his clothes where his blood had soaked into it and dried attested to that._

_A bush rustled unnaturally and he froze, becoming stiller if that was even possible. He forced himself to breathe evenly as he turned his head slowly in the direction of the noise–_

How could he tell Takumi, his dad, that he was the one who had killed him. That he had put an arrow through him with his own bow.

“No, we found out that if we burned our fallen then they couldn’t be reanimated.” Truth. "We were overwhelmed after a week long defense at the Great Wall and that was… when you died.” Truth. “We made sure to set everything on fire as we retreated.” Lie. Kisaragi grinned wide enough to make his eyes squint.

Takumi looked at him closely before turning away. “I see. I’m glad then.”

Kisaragi’s heart clenched and twisted. He was relieved. (He was disappointed). His lie wasn’t caught. _His_ dad would have known immediately that he was lying; he had never been able to hide his tells. He mentally shook his head at the turn of his thoughts. This was his dad too, just another version, he reminded himself.

He was brought out of his thoughts by Takumi clearing his throat.

“Care for a match?”

It took a second for Kisaragi to understand those words as a change of subject and he blinked owlishly at his dad before looking around. Apparently, they had wandered onto the training grounds during their talk and his dad was standing beside a couple of archery targets in front of an empty field.

Kisaragi could see other people practicing but the training grounds were large enough that they were just small shapes in the distance. The field that they were at was relatively private and quiet.

“I don’t mind, but why?”

“I’m curious about another wielder of the Fujin Yumi. And you said you were my son, which means you must have learnt archery… from me?”

“Oh! Yeah! As if you would let anyone else teach me. No one can match your skills in archery!”

Takumi, who had been setting up two targets, stumbled at the enthusiastic compliment, and it was only after he finished setting them up that he turned to Kisaragi and raised his voice to ask. "Even you?”

"Well… I did learn from the best,” Kisaragi answered, hedging.

Takumi had a thoughtful look on his face as he finished setting up the targets and returned to where Kisaragi stood at the edge of the field.

“You first, or me?” Kisaragi asked, reaching a hand to his back, but he remembered, when he grasped at empty air, that he didn’t have his Fujin Yumi on him. He had been told to leave it behind in his room by his dad because it would have drawn unwanted attention if he walked around the fort with an exact copy of the divine weapon that his dad was carrying.

“You can,” Takumi said. He grabbed his Fujin Yumi, hesitated, and then held it out to Kisaragi.

Kisaragi blinked in surprise. He had been ready to head to the nearby building that he knew held supplies for the training grounds and use a practice bow from there; he hadn’t been expecting his dad to pass him his Fujin Yumi. “Are you sure?”

“I said I was curious about another wielder of the Fujin Yumi,” Takumi replied evenly, “unless you can’t actually use it?”

“Of course I can! I don’t carry it around just for show!”

Kisaragi took the bow from his dad and cradled it carefully as he stepped onto a patch of ground in front of the field, worn from countless of archers before him that stood on the very same spot to practice.

For a second his vision doubled again and he remembered a time when his dad had stood behind him and showed him how to manifest the Fujin Yumi’s string and arrow. He remembered being in awe at the amount of concentration and willpower that the weapon required from its user, which made his dad even cooler in his eyes. But this Takumi just stood beside him, silent, and watched him with eyes that he couldn’t read.

“How far did you set them?” Kisaragi asked, more out of wanting to break the silence than actual curiosity. He could already see that the targets weren’t very far.

“70 meters.”

That wasn’t a challenge at all. Kisaragi breathed in deeply and then assumed his stance. He absently noted the quiet intake of air from his dad when the Fujin Yumi’s arrow and string materialized as he went through the motions of nocking an arrow.

Kisaragi instinctively took a quick second to sight down the arrow and made a few adjustments before he breathed out and released his shot at the same time. The manifested arrow sped through the air and pierced a neat hole in the center of his target. Bull’s-eye.

He held his position for another second, even after releasing the arrow, breathing evenly before he finally relaxed, dropping his arms and stance. And then he turned to his dad and rocked back on his heels with a grin on his face, which faded when he noticed the piercing look his dad was giving him.

"What? Didn’t think I’d hit bull’s eye?”

Takumi shook his head and held out his hand for his bow. “No, I was just thinking about how your stance is exactly like mine.”

“Duh, you’re the one who taught me after all!”

“So you’ve said.”

Kisaragi wasn’t too sure why his dad shook his head again, a bemused look on his face, but he handed the Fujin Yumi over without another word. He thought he saw a familiar red-haired ninja disappear over the roofs out of the corner of his eye too, but then his father was preparing to shoot and so he put that out of his mind.

Takumi assumed the same stance Kisaragi had used and lined up his shot at his own target smoothly. Within seconds the arrow and string manifested for him as well and then the arrow was released. Bull’s eye.

Both of them went out into the field to look at their targets, but there wasn’t a single difference. Both of their shots had pierced the exact center of the target.

“Farther?” Takumi suggested with a competitive gleam to his eyes.

“Please, I’m just getting started,” Kisaragi shot back, grinning.

They moved their targets to 90 meters, but once again they both struck the dead center of their targets.

120 meters now. Bull’s eye. Both of them.

“You’re an accomplished archer,” Takumi admitted as they both stood in the field and compared their targets.

“Like I said, I learned from the best.”

Takumi looked at him speculatively. “Can you shoot even farther?”

“Yep!”

“How far?”

Kisaragi hummed, “I’m not too sure actually. You decide!” It wasn’t exactly a lie. He had never officially measured how far he could shoot, especially after inheriting the Fujin Yumi, but he did know that he had an advantage over other people because of his eyesight.

In the other world, while he had been more accurate than his dad, his dad had more power behind each of his shots. Combine that with the will necessary to wield the Fujin Yumi and Kisaragi had always felt like he lost to his father in terms of archery. By the time he inherited the Fujin Yumi… his dad wasn’t around anymore for him to compare their skills.

_Irony. He was a hunter being hunted. The pounding of his heart was so loud that he was afraid the other would hear it but, no, his surroundings remained unnaturally quiet. He tightened his hold on his bow, his sweat making his grip feel loose–_

Kisaragi firmly pushed those memories away.

At any rate, he was curious as to where this version of his dad’s limits were. He had a feeling that his dad would try to choose a distance he thought Kisaragi would miss at but one that he himself would still be able to hit.

“Alright, let’s set them at 200 meters then.”

When they returned to their spots at the edge of the field, the targets were nothing but specks in the distance. Kisaragi could still see most of the rings on the targets, but he was sure that his dad could only see the vague shape of the target.

Takumi, who was holding onto the Fujin Yumi after their last bout, decided to go first. As he released his arrow, Kisaragi followed its trajectory and knew - before it even landed - that the arrow was going to strike the ring second from the center. It was still an impressive shot considering that his dad could barely see the target and was compensating with experience and skill.

And then it was Kisaragi’s turn. He gave himself more time than he needed to line up the shot and to make sure that his concentration was focused enough so that his arrow wouldn’t fizzle out mid-flight. Exhaling, he made his shot and watched as it struck the target.

There was a small thrum of nervousness as he and Takumi walked over to their targets. He hadn’t held back, wanting to show his dad just how much he had learned over the years, but he also knew the result of their contest already.

Just like he saw, his dad’s target showed a hole in the ring second from the center. On the other hand, his target had a hole near the center; it wasn’t exactly on the cross, but it was still within the center circle. As far as Kisaragi was concerned though, this only showed that he was more accurate than his dad, which wasn’t unexpected since he had an advantage.

But Takumi had a shuttered look on his face. Kisaragi wetted his lips with his tongue. “I’ve always had good eyes, actually, so I sort of had an advantage–”

Whatever else he was going to say was interrupted by two voices.

"Takumi!” “Prince Takumi!”

Kisaragi turned to see a man and a woman jog up to them. They seemed to have come from the direction of the people he had seen earlier who were training in the distance. It took him a few seconds before he realized that these two were Hinata and Oboro, his dad’s retainers.

When the two of them reached him and his dad, he noticed them glance at the two targets in their hands with surprise before Oboro gave him an assessing look. Meanwhile, Hinata had gone over to his dad to sling an arm around his shoulders, much to his dad’s displeasure.

“Wow! It’s been a long time since I saw Takumi lose in archery! Who are ya, kid? And I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone else use the Fujin Yumi before, other than this guy here.” Hinata had an affable smile on his lips, but his eyes were sharp.

“Umm…” Kisaragi froze, glancing down at the incriminating bow in his hands, before he looked at his dad for help.

Takumi sighed and then shrugged off Hinata’s arm to pluck the Fujin Yumi out of Kisaragi’s hands. He slung it over his back before hefting his archery target into his hands. “He’s my son,” was Takumi’s only answer. He started to walk to the edge of the field where the rest of the archery targets were stored.

Hinata gaped at his back. “WHAT!?”

Oboro stiffened.

Kisaragi looked at the two of them nervously before he picked up his own archery target and hurried after his dad. In the other world he actually hadn’t interacted much with his dad’s retainers. He knew who they were of course and they knew who he was, but they had been preoccupied with protecting his dad while he had been busy with his lessons and playing with children his age.

It was only a few seconds after he caught up to his father that Hinata came bounding up beside them again, along with Oboro.

“You can’t just drop something like that onto us and then walk away, Takumi!” Hinata complained, “You’ve been hiding a girl from us? I thought we promised to have kids at the same time so that they could grow up together!”

“Do you not trust us?” Oboro’s movements were stiff as she walked a step behind Takumi.

From his place beside his dad Kisaragi could see how his dad rolled his eyes before stopping to face them. “First, I promised no such thing, Hinata. Second, I do trust you two, which is why I’m going to tell you something that you can’t tell anyone else. He’s my son from another world.”

“Oh,” Hinata nodded, “that makes sense.”

Oboro turned to stare incredulously at him. “How does that make sense?”

"Well, now that I think about it, look at this kid’s age! There’s no way Takumi could have hidden a wife or son from us for that long. And I knew Takumi wouldn’t break his promise.”

“I told you that I promised no such thing,” Takumi grumbled before he resumed walking.

"What, so you’re just going to accept that another world exists?” Oboro asked, automatically turning to follow after Takumi.

“Do you have any other explanations for this kid?” Hinata started moving as well.

“An impostor?”

“An impostor who can wield the Fujin Yumi? Plus, Takumi seems to accept it. Are you going to question your prince?”

“Wha– no! Of course not!”

Hinata grinned in victory and Oboro scowled at him, sending chills down Kisaragi’s spine when he saw how demonic she looked. Hinata seemed completely unfazed though.

“So, kid, ya got a name?” Hinata turned to him.

He startled at being suddenly addressed. “Uh, Kisaragi.”

“Well, Kisaragi, how about telling me more about your world?” Hinata came closer beside him to throw an arm over his shoulders.

Kisaragi stiffened and cast a glance at his dad, who seemed to be ignoring them. But since he had revealed the truth of Kisaragi’s origins to his retainers it didn’t seem like he minded if Kisaragi spoke to them.

Figuring that his dad would stop him if he were to say anything that his dad didn’t want them to know, Kisaragi nodded hesitantly. “I’ll tell you what I can. What do you want to know?”

Hinata gave him a serious look, making Kisaragi feel nervous, before he asked solemnly, “There’s no way I would have let Takumi have a kid before me. I must have had a kid too, right? Wait, did I even exist?”

Kisaragi couldn’t help but laugh, tension easing out of him. "Yes, you existed, you all did, and you have one son.”

“Really!? What’s his name? What’s he like?”

“His name is Hisame and he’s the exact opposite of you; super serious and an absolute stickler for rules and propriety,” Kisaragi scrunched up his nose, “He was all about me being princely, as if I didn’t get enough of that already from _someone_ , and so stubborn about being my retainer. I’m so glad I was able to foist him off onto Matoi.”

Even though it sounded like all he had were complaints towards Hisame, there was no heat in any of his words, only affection.

Hinata laughed, “Why does this sound familiar?”

Ahead of them, Takumi snorted but said nothing.

"I wanna meet my son from another world already. That’s right! Didn’t you bring back a group of them with King Ryouma, Takumi? Is Hisame here too?” Hinata asked before he started to peer around Kisaragi, as if Hisame would suddenly appear in front of him now that he was looking for him.

“Ah, no, he… wasn’t with my group,” Kisaragi answered slowly. He quickly added on more when he saw Hinata’s face fall though, “But Siegbert is certain that everyone else made it too, and that they’re with Shinonome.”

Those were just Siegbert’s suspicions, but Kisaragi knew how intelligent the other prince was and so he firmly believed in the other’s words. It was rare for Siegbert to be wrong.

“Siegbert…” Oboro repeated the name, her eyes narrowing, “that doesn’t sound Hoshidan.”

“That’s because he’s the First Prince of Nohr,” Kisaragi replied without a thought.

“The First Prince of Nohr?… There are Nohrians at the fort?”

At first Kisaragi wasn’t sure what he said which made Oboro have such a strange tone in her voice, but when he turned to face her he stiffened at the look in her eyes. He recognized that look. He had seen it too often in some of his friends’ eyes and his own as the days dragged on in their hellish world. Those were the eyes of someone with _rage_.

Kisaragi crossed his arms behind his head and shifted, bringing himself into her line of sight and blocking her view of the rest of the fort. As her eyes focused on him he gave her a close-lipped smile and they stared each other down in a tense silence until Takumi interrupted.

“Oboro.” His voice was a warning.

Oboro broke their stare to glance at Takumi before she backed off, but the terrifying smile on her face stayed. A silence fell over all of them.

By the time they reached the edge of the field the silence had lengthened into something uncomfortable and awkward. Hinata was shifting on his feet. Oboro was trying to stare a hole into the side of Kisaragi’s head. Takumi continued to ignore them and started to set his archery target aside; Kisaragi copied his actions.

Finally Hinata broke the silence by coughing loudly and then asking, “So, um, how about Oboro? Does she have any children?”

“Hinata!” Oboro snapped.

“What? You can’t say you’re not curious!”

She glared at him but Hinata seemed to take that as a confirmation of her interest, since he turned to look at Kisaragi questioningly.

Kisaragi hesitated, a puzzled frown appearing on his face. “I… don’t know, actually, sorry.”

A shadow seemed to pass over Oboro’s face at his words before she turned away to stare at the empty field. Hinata eyed her back thoughtfully, but he pasted on a smile when he realized Kisaragi was looking at him.

“Oh! I just remembered what I really wanted to ask! Who did we all marry?”

“Hinata! I swear I’ll kill you,” Oboro whipped her head around and snarled.

"Okay, okay, nevermind about that question. But can you tell me who your mother is, Kisaragi? I’m curious as to who caught our prince’s eye. Is it anyone we know?”

This time it was Takumi who had a reaction; he stumbled and nearly knocked over the archery targets beside him before he regained his balance and shot a glare at Hinata.

His dad didn’t object to the question though and glanced at him with a look of restrained curiosity. Kisaragi froze upon finding himself the recipient of three people’s focus before he opened his mouth slowly and… stopped.

“I don’t… remember?”

“You don’t remember?” It was Takumi who spoke, surprise coloring his voice.

Kisaragi could feel his alarm and confusion rising within him as he tried to grasp at his memories, but they just kept _slipping_ out of his mental grip. He forced himself to keep calm, but his face paled. “I only remember her… vaguely. Just blurry memories.”

He could see Hinata send him an understanding look, and even Oboro looked sympathetic, which only made Kisaragi more confused before he realized that they must have misunderstood and thought he lost his mother at a young age. That wasn’t the case but he wasn’t going to correct them when he had no explanation for why he suddenly couldn’t remember his mother.

Actually, now that he thought about it, he couldn’t remember anybody’s spouse when it would have been natural for him to know someone like Hisame’s mother. He also knew that he couldn’t have missed hearing about Oboro marrying someone, since she was his dad’s retainer, but he couldn’t remember anything about her life either.

“I… I need to see the others. Right now.”

Kisaragi started to move in the direction he knew the others were, stumbling.

“I’ll take you to them,” his dad told him, reaching out automatically as if he were worried that Kisaragi would collapse, but he withdrew his hand just as quickly, a complicated look flashing through his eyes when he glanced at his own hand. Takumi turned to his retainers. “I’ll see you two around, Oboro, Hinata. Remember to keep what you heard today a secret. Ryouma’s decree.”

“Yes, my lord,” the two of them replied.

**—**

Kisaragi managed to make it to the building where the others were being housed without any incidents, despite the way his thoughts whirled. He even managed to remember to bring enough _manjuu_ for everyone, and then some. His dad had paid for them all without a word.

“I guess… this is it for today.” Kisaragi shifted the bag of sweets he was holding into his other hand and gave a weak smile to his dad. “Sorry for being so quiet back there, I had some things to think about. Oh, and thanks for paying for these!” He lifted up the bag.

“It wasn’t anything,” Takumi said, “and you’re a guest.”

Kisaragi’s smile stiffened at those words before he gave himself a little shake. “Right. Anyway, I think I’ll be spending the night here, so you don’t have to send guards to walk me back.”

His dad nodded and then there was a brief silence, both of them unsure as to what to do next, before Kisaragi inclined his head in a farewell and turned to walk up to the door of the building.

But his dad stopped him with a few words. “Let’s have a rematch.”

Kisaragi turned back, an unreserved smile spreading across his face. “Sure! I’m up for one anytime! We should bring Nina, er, Eponine along too! You really need to see the trick shots she can do, they’re amazing.”

“Tomorrow then,” his dad suggested.

“Tomorrow. It’s a promise,” Kisaragi said. He started to turn again, hesitated, and then faced his dad with a nervous look. “Can I… get a hug?”

Takumi blinked, stunned. A silence stretched between them and just as Kisaragi was about to take his words back, his nerves getting the better of him, his dad nodded. He managed to refrain from leaping at his dad, but as he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around him he could fee how stiff his dad was. Takumi raised his arm, unsure, before he finally pressed it lightly against Kisaragi’s back and patted him awkwardly with that hand.

Honestly, the whole hug was rigid and tense and it wasn’t the bear hugs that he remembered. Takumi didn’t seem to know where to put his hands. But he smelled just like his dad. A faint scent of bow polish, wood smoke, and furs. He also felt just like his dad. The steady beat of his heart was the same. Takumi wasn’t _his_ dad, and yet he _was_ his dad. This was his dad. This was his dad.

In the end Kisaragi was the one who stepped away first, blinking rapidly. “Thanks. I’ll see you tomorrow!” He bounded into the building without a backwards glance, not wanting his dad to see him with tears in his eyes again.

He needed to take a few seconds to regain his composure in the front hall, after he closed the door, before he set off towards the voices he could hear coming from a large room.

He poked his head around a partially open shoji screen and felt a sense of relief settle in him as he saw most of his friends up and moving. Dwyer was with Ophelia, who was talking and gesturing wildly to Lutz. Ignis was beside Soleil and Eponine, the three of them speaking quietly. Unfortunately, it looked like Sophie and Velour were still unconscious.

It was Dwyer who spotted him first, but when Kisaragi smiled at him in greeting the other boy only shot him an impassive look, his eyes shuttered. Kisaragi was taken aback by that reaction but before he could question it, Eponine raised her voice in delight.

“Kisaragi!”

Everyone turned at her exclamation and then they were all talking at the same time, welcoming him back (Soleil, Ignis, and Lutz) and shooting off questions (Ophelia and Eponine).

“Haha, yeah, I’m back! Thanks everyone,” Kisaragi responded with a bashful smile before turning to Ophelia and Eponine, “Woah, hold on! I didn’t catch any of those!”

As everyone settled down, Kisaragi opened the shoji screen fully and stepped into the room though he stayed near the door. He had noticed that Siegbert wasn’t here and wanted to talk with him sooner rather than later.

“We thought they decided to kidnap you,” Soleil joked, bringing his attention back to them.

He felt a pang of guilt at how he had been so excited to spend time with his dad that he hadn’t visited his friends earlier when he should have. To them it must have seemed like he just disappeared. He could see too, when he took a closer look at them, that there was strain in the corner of Soleil’s eyes.

“Sorry, I should have come by sooner.”

“Did you… have a good a time with your dad?” Lutz asked, strangely hesitant.

“Yeah! It was awesome and I’ll be seeing him tomorrow again. I think he’ll even let Eponine come along.”

Eponine’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Whatever for? Not that I’m complaining, ‘cause even though I just woke up I’m already feeling claustrophobic being confined to this place.”

“We got into an archery contest and I told him how you could do some amazing trick shots.”

“Are they treating you well?” Ignis suddenly asked.

“Huh? Of course! Why wouldn’t they?” Kisaragi tilted his head. “I could tell you guys all about my time but I wanted to talk to Siegbert about something first. Does anyone where he is?”

“He’s in the back doing his brooding thing,” Soleil answered.

“You know he hates that word, right?”

“Why do you think I keep using it?” She winked.

Kisaragi snickered and then stepped further into the room to set the bag of _manjuu_ beside Ophelia. He took two before gesturing at the rest, “I brought you guys some sweets, by the way, feel free to have at them.”

“Oh. My. Goodness. SWEETS!!” Ophelia lunged at the bag and then immediately picked one of the confections to bite into. She moaned in appreciation. “This is food worthy of the gods! The voracious beast within me is satisfied by this tribute!”

“Make sure everyone gets one?” Kisaragi directed to Soleil after eyeing how Ophelia grabbed another one to shove into her mouth.

She waved him off with a grin and a promise. As he left his friends, he found himself curious at the lack of Lutz’s usual enthusiasm and Dwyer’s impassive face. Maybe Lutz was unsure in this new place? And Dwyer was just tired?

Kisaragi felt like he was missing something, but he had no idea where to even start, and so he decided to ignore it for now, concentrating on finding Siegbert.

He found Siegbert sitting in one of the rooms at the back of the building, a shoji screen opened to the outside. The other prince was watching the evening sun dye the sky in fiery hues.

Siegbert turned at the sound of footsteps though and his eyes briefly widened at the sight of Kisaragi before he gave him a small smile. “Kisaragi!”

"Heya.” Kisaragi made his way to Siegbert’s side and took a seat before holding out a _manjuu_ to him.

“What’s this?”

“A type of sweet that I got for everyone. Or, well, more like my dad got it since he was the one who paid for it.”

“Thank you.”

Kisaragi waved off his thanks and took a bite of his own, closing his eyes at the nostalgic taste again. He heard Siegbert doing the same beside him and the two of them chewed their food slowly, watching the sun set, until Siegbert spoke.

“How have you been doing?”

“Good. It’s been good. I spoke to Uncle Ryouma and my dad, before he took me around the fort. Which reminds me, earlier today I was asked about who my mom was and I… couldn’t remember.”

The memory of that moment made Kisaragi look down at the half-eaten _manjuu_ in his hand. He swallowed heavily and forced himself to take another bite.

Siegbert was silent for a beat before he responded quietly, “That happened to us too, at least to me, Soleil, Dwyer, and Lutz.”

“You guys can’t remember your moms either? What’s going on?”

Siegbert exhaled heavily. “We don’t know. I was planning to talk to everyone at the same time after they all woke up. We’ll see if this is the case for everyone or just some.”

Kisaragi nodded. It still frightened him to have what felt like a mist over his memories but he was reassured at how calm Siegbert was taking this and how he already had a plan. This was why the other prince was acknowledged by everyone as their leader (along with Shinonome); the two always seemed to know what to do in any situation.

“So, how was your day? Other than realizing that some of us seem to have selective amnesia.”

Siegbert snorted. “I had a meeting with King Ryouma.”

Kisaragi blinked, unsure how to take the other boy’s tone. “Oka–y… how’d that go?”

There was a pause that made Kisaragi glance at Siegbert and his breath caught at the shadow in the other prince’s eyes.

“It was informative,” Siegbert’s voice was curt, “I’ll tell everyone what happened when they’re all up.”

Feeling like he overstepped, but not really understanding how and why, Kisaragi decided to stay quiet. The two of them finished off the rest of their _manjuu_ and sat in silence. And it was just as he started to see stars appearing in the darkening sky that Siegbert cleared his throat.

“Kisaragi, are you… happy here? Do you think you could live here?”

He was confused at the sudden seriousness of the atmosphere but he answered truthfully, albeit slowly, “Yeah, I think so. They set me up near my dad and even though he’s not _my_ dad - from the other world and stuff - he’s still my dad, if that makes sense. I think we could get along. I think we _are_ getting along.”

There was a beat of silence.

“I’m glad,” Siegbert glanced at him before redirecting his eyes to the sky, “I’m planning to go and find Shinonome and the others, but anyone who wants to stay here can stay here. I’m going to tell the others this too.”

Kisaragi turned his head to Siegbert in surprise, but the other prince continued to stare at the sky, so all he could see was the side of Siegbert’s face, which was a carefully crafted look of nonchalance. He hated how Siegbert would sometimes speak like this, with underlying meanings, and he wasn’t sure if he caught everything the other was implying but–

“Of course I’m coming along. How’re you going to find them without a tracker? Look, I’m going to be with you guys until we find everyone and then we can _all_ talk about what we’re going to do.” Kisaragi shook his head, suddenly feeling frustrated. “After everything we went through, do you think I’m just going to part ways without a word?”

Siegbert turned to look at him, face slackening in surprise. “Well, no, but–”

“Ugh!” Kisaragi shook his head before he turned to look at the sky, leaning back on his arms. “Soleil was right, you brood way too much.”

“I don’t brood, I think.” Siegbert grumbled.

Kisaragi didn’t respond to that though and, instead, breathed in deeply before letting it go, breath whooshing out of him. The air was fresh here and carried the scent of food as people prepared their evening meal. It was quiet too; there were still the sounds of people going about their business in the distance but there was no rush and tension in the air. It was peaceful.

“This world seems nice though.”

Siegbert glanced at him before murmuring in agreement. “Mm.”

“There’s no wars. Everyone that I passed in the fort looked happy.”

“Mm.”

“I don’t think my uncle or dad would mind if we all decided to stay here.”

There was a pause this time. “… Mm.”

“You know, you could even marry in and become real family–”

Siegbert choked on air.

He turned to look at Siegbert in concern and was surprised to see a shocked look on the other boy’s face as he coughed. Kisaragi had a sinking feeling. “Wait. You don’t know?”

“Know what?” Siegbert croaked, still clearing his throat.

“Oh no, no, no. I had a bet with Foleo that you would know about the person who likes you! He told me you were oblivious but you can’t be this oblivious!”

“What? Someone likes me? Who?”

Normally, he would have laughed at seeing Siegbert become so flustered - there was even a red flush on his cheeks - but Kisaragi had a bet riding on this.

“Nope, I’m not telling. I’m not gonna forfeit this bet. Wait, does it count as a forfeit if I’ve told you that someone likes you? Crap, don’t tell Foleo that I told you this.”

Siegbert shook his head. “No, you’re going to tell me who it is right now.”

“Nope, not gonna do it!”

Siegbert made a lunge at him but Kisaragi was already crawling away, laughing and refusing to say a word. Before Siegbert could make another grab at him though they suddenly heard raised voices and the sounds of people struggling. The two exchanged glances and got to their feet, sprinting to the large room where the noises were coming from and where everyone was.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who have been following this story, you've probably noticed that I changed Asugi's name to Gurei (his JP one). I decided to do this because the themes in his past/childhood fit better with that name than the localized one. Of course you're welcome to refer to the children with whichever name you want though!

**ACT V.**

It only took another day of wandering through the camp under subtle watch before Shinonome became restless enough to barge into the tent that held a meeting between the Nohrian royals which, looking back on it, probably wasn’t the wisest move. Especially when the three spun around to face him with their weapons half-drawn.

“How did you get in here?” Leon demanded.

“I… just walked in?” Shinonome answered.

“It looks like some guards are due for remedial lessons,” Camilla said as she looked towards the entrance and narrowed her eyes at the stiffening backs of said guards.

Honestly, Shinonome was also surprised at how far he had made it into the tent; the guards posted at the front had taken one look at him and allowed him through. It reminded him of something Gurei taught him, about how if he looked like he had a place to be and walked with purpose then people would be less inclined to detain him and would even move out of his way.

Or maybe he still had a princely air despite looking half-starved - much like the others - and carrying the echoes of the devastated world they left behind. Even now, though they had left that world behind, his hand still flew reflexively to Siegfried at every loud noise and he couldn’t relax if he sensed eyes on him.

But the benefits of being in the Nohrian camp outweighed the discomfort he felt every time he saw groups of soldiers come in and out of the camp. An especially large part of him was relieved at how they had regular meals provided to them now. No more did he have to look at the younger children and wonder: when would their next meal be? Could they catch anything? Would there even be enough for everyone? When could they just _stop_ – hiding, running, and losing everything.

“Is there something you require, Prince Shinonome?” Marx asked, interrupting Shinonome’s meandering thoughts.

Shinonome straightened his back. “Give me something to do. Like helping with the repairs or something. I’m about to go stir-crazy here.”

Marx raised an eyebrow. “You and your companions have permission to move anywhere through the camp.”

“Yeah, but we’re not actually doing anything,” Shinonome pointed out, “I’d also like to make up for any damages my friends and I actually caused.”

“No, your presence would do more harm than good,” Leon immediately refused.

“The townspeople may not be comfortable in a Hoshidan’s presence,” Camilla added, but she was looking at Shinonome with interest.

Shinonome kept his posture relaxed and raised his chin to maintain eye contact with Marx, allowing the king to scrutinize him. But once again he was struck by a dizzying sense of deja vu upon seeing familiar dark brown eyes staring back at him. However, it was like looking at a smudged painting; the brown was a shade darker than he was used to - hints of maroon instead of gold - and there were shadows that he couldn’t read.

Finally, Marx looked away and glanced at the table that he was standing behind, which held a rough map of the town with markers all over it. No doubt it held information about the state of the town and the supplies and repairs they still needed in order for the townspeople to make it through the upcoming seasons.

“Perhaps your request has merits. We could always use more working hands. I will assign some soldiers to you though,” Marx halted the protests of both his siblings and Shinonome by raising a hand, “This is for your protection and to ease any concerns from the townspeople.”

“Thank you, King Marx.” There was a small pause when Shinonome had to remember to add the other’s title. He then nodded his head to Camilla and Leon before turning to leave the tent. He was stopped before he could though.

“Wait. Before you leave, I had this made posthaste,” Marx said.

Shinonome caught the object tossed at him and looked down to see that he was holding a scabbard made out of dark leather.

“It would be best not to draw attention to the sword that you have,” Marx inclined his head to Shinonome’s belt, which carried the frill-wrapped Siegfried.

Shinonome fought the flush of embarrassment that rose to his face and cleared his throat. “Thanks.” He went to beat a hasty retreat from the tent but was stopped once again.

“I will send soldiers to you later to show you where you can help,” there was a gleam of amusement in Marx’s eyes, “You may leave now.”

“Right. Thanks. I’ll just, uh, make this switch back at my tent.” Shinonome raised the scabbard to illustrate his point before he finally managed to leave the Nohrian royals to the rest of their meeting.

**—**

And this is how, hours later, Shinonome found himself carrying materials to and from the repair sites with; sometimes he brought tools to the workers and sometimes he carried planks of wood to them.

At first the townspeople had given him wary glances but they ended up accepting his help when they saw the pair of soldiers (honestly, they were guards) who had been sent to guide him (they were obviously there to keep watch on him). But Shinonome didn’t let these facts bother him; he was just happy to be active.

Especially since they were all still waiting on Gurei to heal and wake.

Once he had been given permission by Marx to help with the town’s repairs he had returned to his friends to let them know, and to see if anyone wanted to join him. Most of them opted to remain in the tent though.

Midoriko was still in the middle of cataloging her medicine chest and interested in seeing if there were any herbs nearby that she could forage, to which he warned her not to stray too far from the camp. Midoriko also wanted to remain close to monitor Gurei, her cousin. Mitama claimed that she shared Midoriko’s sentiments in wanting to watch Gurei’s health, but Shinonome was sure this was also an excuse for her to nap.

Meanwhile, Kanna remained shaky from her transformation and Shigure was too worried about her to want to leave the tent, so he stayed to keep her company; he probably wanted to minimize the risk of her transforming too by keeping her in a calm environment. Besides, Shigure was also the type of person who disliked large groups, and Shinonome had noticed that the number of soldiers around the camp seemed to increase by the day.

He had a feeling that Marx - and the other royal siblings - were bolstering their forces for the upcoming raid on the bandit camp when Gurei woke, although more soldiers also meant more help for the townspeople.

Anyway, Foleo and Kinu were the only ones out of their group that seemed interested in leaving the tent to walk around the camp. And though Foleo still hadn’t worked up the courage yet to speak to Leon, his father, he seemed to enjoy catching sight of him and just being on Nohrian land and seeing Nohrian people.

Kinu accompanied Foleo (though it was more like Shinonome had asked her to keep close to one of them, out of fear of what mischief the young fox might get into if she was left unsupervised) and, fortunately, she seemed entertained enough following the other boy around.

At any rate, Shinonome was in the middle of carrying a stack of wooden planks through the town to another repair site, his guards trailing behind him, when he heard a loud voice coming from around a corner.

“I’m telling you! It’s not my fault we’re a day late! My dreams have been troubled by a dark presence as of late, and my nights restless. Something is astir, my friend, and my blood… it itches,” A man exclaimed.

“Please, you just overslept,” another man replied, dry amusement in his voice, “and your blood itches? That’s a new one. Usually it rages or boils, doesn’t it?”

“Are you making light of my dire warnings?! I’ve felt a strange resonance these past few days and it has only grown stronger since we arrived here. I believe I should tell Lo–”

Shinonome was so caught up in the strangers’ conversation that he didn’t notice their voices becoming louder until he turned the corner and nearly crashed into one of them.

He jerked back on reflex but this sharp movement caused a wooden plank at the top of the stack in his arms to slip off; he made a pathetic attempt to catch it but this just unsettled the rest of the planks in his arms and everything started to wobble precariously.

Until a pair of hands shot out; one grabbing his forearm to hold it steady - thus keeping the rest of the stack from tumbling - and the other snatching the falling plank before it could hit the ground.

_Fast_ , Shinonome noted, _and quiet_. He realized that it hadn’t been him not noticing their voices getting louder but that this man had been so silent on his feet that Shinonome hadn’t known how close this man was to the corner until he turned it.

Shinonome took a closer look at the man who had prevented him from having a small accident. He was a slender, dark-skinned man clad in dark blues and blacks; the most striking features on him were his white hair and eye patch.

“Watch where you’re going…” the man started to say before he noticed Shinonome’s foreign face. His blue eye widened before narrowing as he gave a slow smile, “Oh? What do we have here? A lost Hoshidan boy?”

Shinonome bristled, any gratitude he felt fading at the man’s mocking tone. “I’m not a boy!”

“But you don’t deny that you’re lost. A little far from home aren’t you, boy? Odin, what do you make of this?” Zero turned to the man behind him, who must have been the one speaking earlier, only to see that he was motionless and staring at Shinonome with a peculiar look on his face. “… Odin?”

“Huh? Wha? Oh, sorry, I was lost on the shores of rumination. There is something odd about him…” The other man, Odin, said as he continued to stare at Shinonome.

“Odd?” Zero repeated, his expression becoming serious, before he tightened his hold on Shinonome’s arm, holding him in place with a steel grip.

Shinonome tensed.

It was at this point that his guards - who had been lagging behind - finally caught up to him. And, in a surprising turn of events, they brought along Prince Leon. Or maybe Prince Leon was the reason for his guards’ delay.

"Odin! Zero! It’s about time you two arrived. You’re both late,” Leon called out, unimpressed, before he took in the scene ahead of him. “What is going on here?”

“I’m just playing with a stray,” Zero replied lightly, his bearing become less serious when he noticed the lack of alarm on Leon’s face upon seeing Shinonome.

“I’m not a stray,” Shinonome grumbled, tugging at his arm, but Zero continued to keep his grip on him.

Leon sighed, “Release him, Zero, we have a truce with Prince Shinonome.”

Zero’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Prince?” He gave Shinonome a blatant once-over but obeyed and let him go. He also dropped the wooden plank that he had in his other hand back at the top of the stack in Shinonome’s arms before he stepped away towards Leon. “My lord, I think you should be aware that Odin finds him odd and if Odin finds him odd then…”

“Hey!” Odin sent a wounded look in Zero’s direction before glancing back at Shinonome. “He’s not odd in a nefarious way. He’s odd in a strange feeling manner. Like there’s something familiar about him…”

“Familiar,” Leon echoed; there was no inflection in his voice, making it hard to guess what he was thinking upon hearing these words.

“Uh, I haven’t seen you before and I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t forget someone like you.” Shinonome joined the conversation and eyed the bright yellow of Odin’s revealing outfit.

“Ah HA!” Odin abruptly crowed, startling the men around him, “Perhaps I saw him in my troubled repose; he is an omen sent to foretell me of the next trial I must overcome!” He started to hop from foot to foot in a strange dance.

Leon raised a hand to his head in exasperation but there was no bite in his voice when he addressed Odin, “Stop that. But you aren’t wrong about having a new mission. We have a lead on the bandits’ base of operations. Come, you two, we need to make preparations and I want to hear your reports.”

“Yes, my lord,” the two men (retainers?) replied before they quickly followed after Leon when he started to walk away in the direction of the camp.

The other prince barely gave Shinonome a passing glance before the three headed off and Shinonome wasn’t sure what he had been expecting but maybe an apology or embarrassment from Leon for letting his retainers manhandle him would have been nice.

He shook his head at the series of strange events that had just happened and the people he had just met. Were all Nohrian retainers like that?

And then a thought suddenly occurred to him.

“By the Dawn, that was Ophelia’s dad!”

Fortunately, he said this quietly enough that his guards didn’t overhear him. He still had to take a few seconds to overcome his surprise though, staring in the direction the three men had disappeared into.

Parents were a touchy subject among their entire group, and so Shinonome was only fully aware of the parents of the royal children. The others decided for themselves whether they wished to share or hold their silence, which is why he didn’t know Odin was Ophelia’s dad until he realized how similar they sounded with their exaggerated speeches. Huh, he had always thought Ophelia was Princess Elise’s daughter because of their hair color but now that he had seen Odin, they shared a similar color as well.

He wondered whether Zero was the father of anyone he knew before he shook his head again, deciding that it wasn’t important right now. He returned back to his task of delivering the wooden planks and heard his guards fall into step behind him.

**—**

Shinonome had just finished dropping off the wooden planks and was asking the workers at the site of a collapsed house if they needed any assistance, especially when one of their helpers was a man who seemed to be of more harm than help with his ridiculous accidents, when he heard someone yelling his name. It was Kinu, her voice laced with terror.

He spun around in time to face her as she turned a corner and skidded to a stop in front of him, breathing heavily. “Shino!! Foleo!! He… he collapsed!”

"What?! What happened!?” Shinonome demanded, his mind racing with scenarios that grew more and more terrible as time passed while Kinu tried to catch her breath.

Had he misjudged the Nohrians? Did Marx go back on his word? No, from the stories he’s heard about Marx through Siegbert that was impossible. Idiots who couldn’t keep their mouths shut? No, Foleo may be soft-spoken but after what they’ve seen in their world there was no way bullies would get to Foleo, and the other prince could defend himself. Could it be an unsanctioned plot against them?

He had noticed the distrustful looks of the townspeople and the reticence of the soldiers he interacted with - including his guards - but nothing had stood out to him. He had just thought that they were all wary of strangers, which was natural considering the way he and his group showed up on their lands. But maybe it was different for Foleo, with his obvious Nohrian origins.

Finally, Kinu caught her breath and straightened. “Kinu wanted to explore so Foleo was showing me around town! And then we met this pretty lady who was helping people who were hurt! Foleo looked really happy to see her and then they started talking. But I was bored and walked away and that was when she heard the pretty lady scream. Kinu ran back to see Foleo on the ground!”

Kinu grabbed him, encircling both her hands around his wrist as her ears swiveled back and flattened against her head. “I didn’t mean to leave Foleo and now he’s all white and he might be hurt and it might be my fault! Kinu should have never left! I didn’t know what to do so she came to Shinonome, who was closest!”

“Calm down, Kinu, you did good,” Shinonome reassured the younger girl before he took his own advice and tried to keep himself calm with a deep breath, “Can you take me to him?”

She nodded her head vigorously before dashing back the way she came. Shinonome immediately took off after her, not giving a second thought to his guards who must have had to scramble after him with confused and alarmed looks.

In no time Shinonome found himself at what looked to be a makeshift infirmary set up in the town to treat people who were injured in the attack. Kinu slowed to a stop beside Foleo, who was sitting off to the side on a piece of rubble; he was hunched over with his head between his knees and Shinonome barely registered the young blonde woman, who was also beside Foleo, before he was crouching down in front of the other boy.

“Foleo! Are you alright? Here, come on, look at me,” Shinonome gently took Foleo’s face in his hands and lifted his head up so they could look at each other. But Foleo’s eyes were dilated and his breathing was too quick. “Shit. Take some deep breaths with me, okay? In on three and out on three.”

For a second Shinonome was worried the other boy couldn’t hear him but Foleo soon started to follow Shinonome’s example of breathing and even lifted his hands to weakly clutch at Shinonome’s wrists, keeping them anchored together. It was several minutes before Foleo’s breathing evened out and some color returned to his face.

“You okay?” Shinonome asked, concerned.

“Y-Yes,” Foleo answered but his pallor was still too pale.

“Oh, thank goodness! You gave me a fright there when you collapsed,” the blonde woman that Shinonome had ignored spoke up at this time and Shinonome glanced over at her, dropping his hands from Foleo, only to freeze when he got a better look at her face. It was–

“I apologize if I gave you cause to be concerned, Princess Elise. It was just a bout of dizziness.” Foleo shot a look at Shinonome, having seen him open his mouth. Shinonome closed it.

“How many times do I have to remind you? Just “Lady” will do. But that sounds worrying. Would you like me to check on you?” Elise, no, _Princess_ Elise asked, her hands starting to glow with healing magic.

“Ah, no, thank you. It’s not something that magic can cure. I believe I just need to rest,” Foleo demurred.

“Oh gosh, I’m sorry for keeping you here so long then!” There was a contrite expression on Elise’s face, and then she looked over to Shinonome. “I presume you’re this young man’s friend. Can I ask you to escort him back to his tent?”

“Of course, Lady Elise, we’re all staying in the same place.” Shinonome bowed his head to her as best as he could from his position near the ground.

"Perfect! It was nice to meet you Foleo and I hope we can continue our discussion some other time. I really do like your designs.”

“It was my pleasure as well and, please, feel free to call on me whenever you wish.” Foleo inclined his head and then stood up shakily. Shinonome, who had risen with him, automatically reached out a hand to steady him. Kinu slid to Foleo’s other side, brushing up against him with a worried look.

But Foleo just smiled at them placidly and so Shinonome and Kinu exchanged looks before they started to guide Foleo back to the tent they shared with everyone.

"Okay, you were blatantly lying back there. What’s going on?” Shinonome kept his voice low, aware that his guards were still trailing behind them.

“I’ll tell you later when we’re back at the tent. Actually, I have something to tell all of you,” Foleo answered, equally as quiet.

“You’re okay now though, right?” There was still a nervous line to Kinu’s body.

"Yes, I am. Thanks for acting so fast and getting Shinonome,” Foleo told her, reaching over to pat her on the arm. Kinu ducked her head to hide her pleased blush.

They walked the rest of the way in silence and when they finally reached the tent Shinonome let Foleo and Kinu enter first while he sent off his guards, informing them that he wasn’t going to go anywhere else for the rest of the day. He was certain - even as they bowed respectfully to him and left - that they would report today’s events directly to the Nohrian royals, especially since it involved Princess Elise.

By the time he entered the tent, Foleo was already being fussed over by a concerned Midoriko. “I’m telling you that I’m fine–!” Kinu had taken a seat beside Kanna, who looked to be doing a weapons check with Shigure, but the two of them were now focused on him and Foleo (he answered their unspoken question with a shrug). Mitama was beside the unconscious Gurei and watched them with sharp eyes that belied her relaxed form.

Shinonome plopped himself down on the ground in a spot where he had a good view of everyone before he prompted Foleo. “So?”

Foleo waited until Midoriko subsided in her fussing and took a seat beside him - though she still eyed him doubtfully - before he started talking. “Okay, this might be a huge shock to everyone but please try to listen as calmly as you can. Also, are we clear, Kinu?”

Kinu straightened upon being addressed and tilted her head, narrowing her eyes in concentration. “Mhm! There are some people nearby but as long as we keep our voices down they won’t be able to hear anything.”

“Great, thank you,” Foleo took another look around, as if confirming that they were all taking him seriously, before he continued, “I met my aunt, Elise, today and we started talking about clothes before she asked if I learnt everything I knew from my mother. That’s when I realized… that I couldn’t remember her– my mother.”

There was a long silence.

“Huh?” Kanna blinked.

Foleo shook his head in frustration. “My mother and I were very close. There is no way I could forget about her but every time I try to reach for any memories it’s like they’re… gone.”

Shinonome felt his heart twist in sympathy for Foleo. Maybe the other boy had a rougher landing that resulted in a knock to his head? He did find Foleo in a bush, after all. And it wasn’t like he, or the others, had any troubles remembering _their_ mothe–

… wait…

Huh?

Shinonome’s throat locked up as he ran up against a block - no, a void - in his memories. Who _was_ his mother? What did she look like? What did she sound like? Why was it that the only thing he could barely remember was a hazy image of a beautiful woman and handwritten letters… He had a sinking sensation that these memories were only there because they focused on his dad too. He had no memories of times when it was just him and his mom bonding.

He clenched his hands and ignored the bite of his fingernails as they dug into his palm. It was unreasonable of him. He knew that. He _knew_ that. But he couldn’t keep a tide of anger from rising at his dad for taking one more thing away from him. As if his dad hadn’t taken away enough things from him. Of course he would just be left with memories of his dad and none of his mom.

Shinonome was torn out of his spiraling thoughts when he heard a loud gasp and he looked up, not realizing he had dropped his head when he had been thinking, to see Midoriko turning white. Did she have the same problem as well?

He took in the rest of everyone’s reactions and noticed that Kinu had an utterly bewildered look. Kanna and Shigure also seemed to be confused. Meanwhile, there was a storm brewing on Mitama’s face when he met her eyes and he just knew that she was feeling the exact same things he was feeling. Both of them had their own issues with their fathers but they would have both agreed to have rather kept memories of their mothers instead of their fathers.

“It’s not just me, is it?” Foleo asked quietly.

Everyone looked at each other in various states of confusion, disbelief, fear, and anger. But then Shigure opened his mouth hesitantly.

“I’m sorry but… actually, Kanna and I can remember our parents.”

"It’s true,” Kanna said quickly, “Dad gave me a ring and his sword. And mom could sing beautifully and had pretty blue hair like my brother!”

“I’m glad,” Shinonome told them roughly. And it was true. He was glad that at least two of them were spared from this horrible situation. But why did it even happen? He tried to cast his mind back to the last thing he remembered from their previous world. They had been fighting that monstrous horror and then…

“I don’t understand how this happened though. Is it just random? You two weren’t affected but the rest of us were?”

Shinonome heard Foleo thinking out loud faintly, as if the other boy was talking from a distance, and there was a ringing in his head that grew louder the more he tried to remember what happened. He felt like there was something that happened to him that he should be remembering… when he was falling… falling…

A spike of pain suddenly ripped through him and Shinonome clutched at his head with a hand, hissing in pain.

“Shinonome!?” “Shino!” “Shinonome!!”

He waved away everyone’s concerned voices with a trembling hand and, though he had to squint his eyes against the pain, he still managed to speak through gritted teeth, “I just remembered something. When I was falling into the Bottomless Canyon I heard a voice say… “Free me” I think. I know it said other things too but I can’t seem to remember the rest.”

“Stop doing that at once / Force is your way but this time / causes more harm than good,” Mitama warned him.

Normally he would have made a token protest against her but since the ache in his head was growing he nodded and stopped trying to remember. The pain was still there but it lessened enough for him to drop his hand back into his lap.

“A voice… do you think someone _sent_ us here?” Midoriko suggested hesitantly.

“But how? I can’t even imagine the amount of magic it would take to break the laws of nature like that. If someone did send us here then they would have had to tear open a gate to _another dimension_.” Foleo’s voice was incredulous.

“I don’t know why you’re so skeptical, Foleo, we’ve already seen strange magic at play back in our world,” Mitama reminded him.

“You have a point, but being able to transport people to other dimensions!?”

“I have a theory,” Shigure interrupted, “Would you all agree that emotions can be a powerful source of energy that fuels people? If that’s the case, then why not memories? My theory is that the memories of your mothers were used as the source of energy to move us here.”

“But why the memories of just our mothers?” Shinonome asked.

“I’m not sure. Perhaps the energy required was so large that it targeted the strong bonds between a mother and a child.” Shigure was apologetic as he tried his best to give an answer.

“How come we can remember our mother then?” Kanna tugged at her brother’s sleeve, “That’s not very fair for everyone else.”

Shigured looked down at her sadly. “No, you’re right, it’s not very fair. My guess is that either our mother’s power or our father’s power protected us somehow.”

Shinonome heaved a loud sigh and then scrubbed at his face with both of his hands. “Alright, okay, so to recap: someone, or something, may have sent us here to this other world to “free” them and, in the process, took our memories of our mothers. That about it?”

No one disagreed and another heavy silence fell over all of them. Shinonome didn’t know what to think; he and his friends were involved in an unknown plot and he didn’t like that at all. Like hell was he going to dance to the tune of another person (or thing). Did the mysterious entity think that they would be grateful for being taken out of that nightmarish world? Because, dammit, he _was_ glad but not if it came at a steep price that they were going to have to repay later.

And then his dark thoughts were interrupted by a hoarse voice. “Sounds like we’re in a sticky situation. Another world, lost memories, and a potential big bad, oh my.”

Everyone turned their attention to the corner where Gurei lay but he was now propped up on a elbow, watching them with a wry smile.

“Gurei!” Midoriko brightened when she saw that her cousin was up.

“You’re not supposed to be up yet. Now lie down before you hurt yourself again,” Mitama snapped and, being the closest one to him, pushed on his shoulders to return him to the bed.

“Your bedside manners are as sweet as always, Star,” Gurei teased, “besides I’m pretty sure I’m not even hurt anymore after all the work you and Midoriko did on me. M’just tired.”

“Gurei,” Shinonome addressed him, serious, “the last time we spoke you told me that Matoi and the others were caught by bandits. I didn’t catch the rest of it though. Was Siegbert there too?”

Gurei’s expression was light but his eyes were flat as he shook his head. “No, sorry, I woke up here with Matoi, Hisame, and Rhajat. And let me tell you, it was a helluva shock on us when we walked into a bandit army. Been a while since we’ve seen that many people in one place. Living, that is.”

Disappointment curdled unpleasantly in Shinonome’s gut and something must have slipped through onto his face because Midoriko reached out to place a hand on his arm and gave him a sympathetic look. He summoned a weak smile to reassure her and took in a deep breath before he drew himself up and looked at everyone.

“Right. Okay. None of what we just talked about has changed anything though. We still need to rescue Matoi, Hisame, and Rhajat, and the safest way to do that is to stay with the Nohrians. We can decide what to do next after that.”

Later. Later. Later. Why did he feel like that was all he could say? But, as he looked around at all his friends, he noticed that his words seemed to have a fortifying effect on them, giving them something to focus on.

“Are you good to go, Gurei?” Shinonome asked, forcing himself to keep to the present as well. He ignored Mitama and Midoriko’s stink eye.

“Yes, I don’t want to leave Matoi and the others with the bandits any second longer than they have to be.”

“Good. I’ll let Marx and the other royals know that you’re up so we can discuss our next move.”


	8. Chapter 8

**ACT VI.**

Siegbert burst into the common room, Kisaragi right behind him, and a thousand and one terrible scenarios nipping at his heels. But what he found, contrary to what his imagination conjured, was Ignis and Soleil struggling with a snarling Velour (which still wasn’t good but much more preferable than, say, an attack on them by the Hoshidans). Velour must have regained consciousness while he had been talking to Kisaragi.

“Velour, stop! We’re safe here!” Soleil shouted.

But Velour just threw her head back, striking Ignis in the face with a loud crunch - making him reel backwards and release her as blood poured from his nose - before ripping her arm out of Soleil’s grip, the other girl not being a match for a wolfskin’s enhanced strength on her own. Velour took a few steps towards the exit, but then Siegbert was there grabbing her by the shoulders.

“Velo–”

His words cut off as he felt her muscles tense followed by her hand lashing out at his face, fingers curled into claws. He twisted away to dodge and, instead of letting her go like she expected, he hooked a foot around her leg and pulled, intending to drive her to the ground as gently as he could to pin her. But Velour felt this shift in their balance and threw her body forward to knock him down.

Siegbert instinctually wanted to turn them around to keep himself on top, but that would mean letting Velour take the fall and the force from her lunge meant they were going to hit the ground hard. And so he chose not to react, instead bracing himself for the impact.

The two of them struck the ground and Siegbert wheezed as the air was driven out of him, especially when Velour’s weight landed on him. His head also struck the ground and, for a second, his vision went blank before he was suddenly gasping for air and blinking. The taste of blood bloomed in his mouth from where his teeth cut into his cheek. He could hear people shouting in the room but their voices sounded muffled.

Velour seized this chance to scramble to her feet and escape but Ignis had caught up to them at this point - the blood on his face making his stern features look gruesome - and looped his arms underneath hers to literally lift and trap the wolfskin against him. Velour struggled violently, snarling and snapping her teeth, but she couldn’t break out of his grip.

“STOP,“ Siegbert commanded sharply as he staggered to his feet, wiping at his mouth with the back of his hand and smearing a faint streak of red across it. His voice cut through the air and silenced everyone. “What do you think you’re doing, Velour?”

“I’m going to find my papa!” Velour growled, “I heard. He’s here. All our parents are alive! So why are we still _here_ instead of going to find them already?!”

Siegbert looked over at Soleil, who offered an apologetic but helpless shrug. They didn’t keep secrets from each other. He had wanted to talk to everyone at the same time but he couldn’t blame Soleil for explaining the situation - as much as they knew about it - to Velour upon her awakening.

“There are circumstances–” he started to say.

“I don’t care.”

“Velo–”

“If you don’t care enough about your parents to find them, that’s your problem. But I’m leaving no matter what to track down papa!”

It was the stress. They were all stressed. And he knew how much wolfskin valued family. But even though he told himself this, Siegbert could feel a dark and ugly thing bubbling from within him. “And when you find him, what then? Wolfskins rely on scent to recognize each other, correct? He doesn’t know your scent, ergo he won’t know you. None of our parents do. And rightfully so, because we don’t belong here. We don’t exist. We’re nobodies.”

“Siegbert…” Soleil’s voice was edged with warning.

He ignored her.

“That’s not true!” Kisaragi cut in, “My dad - this Takumi - accepted me. Just because he doesn’t know me now doesn’t mean we can’t get to know each other. We can make a place here.”

“And do you really think Prince Takumi doesn’t have ulterior motives? That King Ryouma didn’t instruct him to act nice? Do you all honestly think the Hoshidans are hosting us out of sheer goodwill?”

Kisaragi flinched upon hearing his words, however the younger prince set his jaw, voice shaking, “Why did you ask if I was happy here then. Why did you even give me the option of staying if you distrust them so much.”

Siegbert could see the look of hurt in Kisaragi’s eyes, and when he swallowed the taste of iron settled heavily in his stomach.

_“What are you so afraid of?”_

“Nothing!” he snapped.

It was the heavy weight of silence and looks of confusion from the others which made Siegbert realize that no one had spoken at all. He clenched his jaw - _hard_ \- when he noticed Dwyer scrutinizing him, and shook his head lightly before he tried to speak as levelly as possible.

“It’s not that I distrust them, I am just being cautious. I acknowledge that the Hoshidans are being hospitable, we could have been staying in much different accommodations, and it’s a relief that your father is receptive; however, we cannot fool ourselves into accepting that what we see is everything.” That was as close to an apology as he was willing to give in this situation.

Kisaragi had a strained expression and Soleil was looking at him disapprovingly, but Velour was quiet - had been for a while now as he spoke - though Ignis still kept a hold on her, just in case. Her lips were pressed thin but she was still. Ignis had his usual stoic expression through the drying blood on his face.

Ophelia was stricken, along with Lutz, but Eponine had a thoughtful look on her face. Dwyer, much like Ignis, had a blank expression that masked anything he was thinking.

“Fortunately, if they haven’t done so now, it doesn’t seem like the Hoshidans will take any aggressive actions. Which leads me to wanting to talk to everyone about our circumstances and the options we have available to us.” Siegbert glanced at Velour as he said this.

Velour opened her mouth, "What could possibly–”

And then someone groaned, grabbing all of their attentions to where their last unconscious friend, Sophie, lay.

She opened her eyes blearily and saw how everyone was staring at her. “… mngh… Hullo… is it time to get up already?”

“Sophie! We were so worried!!” Ophelia flew into her arms.

“A scratch like that can’t keep me down!” Sophie laughed before wincing as Ophelia’s weight pressed against her partially healed bruises.

“Ophelia, off. I need to check Sophie. And you, Ignis, get over here so I can look at that nose,” Dwyer said, moving immediately to Sophie’s side. Ignis padded over obediently.

“I’m feeling fine, Dwyer,“ Sophie grumbled as he crouched down. And then she took a closer look around the room and its furnishings and style before looking at everyone and asking, “So… where are we and what did I miss?”

Siegbert exchanged looks with Soleil and Kisaragi before gesturing at everyone to take a seat as he opened his mouth and explained everything that had happened to them from the moment they woke up in this world.

**—**

Everyone was silent as they digested everything Siegbert told them. They were all sitting in a large circle.

He talked about how they appeared to have fallen into another world (cause: unknown), been picked up by Hoshido and were under watch (possibly being held hostage), that they couldn’t remember their mothers (cause: unknown), and that he had spoken to King Ryouma, who had brought up harsh but necessary truths.

“Is that why you came back in such a bad mood?” Soleil commented rhetorically.

“He didn’t say anything that was untrue. I needed to hear that, but it’s not going to change my mind about heading east to see the state of Nohr. Not to mention I need to find the others as well,” Siegbert paused here and took a deep breath, “But I don’t expect everyone to come with me. I doubt we’ll be able to leave this place without a struggle. But for those who do want to stay, I’ll come up with a way for that to happen without any repercussions.” He glanced at Kisaragi here.

“Of course I’ll do what I can to help. I told you before that I’ll be coming with you though,” Kisaragi replied instantly, crossing his arms behind his head and grinning.

Siegbert gave him a tight nod and then looked at everyone else, lingering on Ophelia and Lutz. When he thought about what the youngest of their group went through he felt like the responsible thing to do was to keep them as far away from conflict as possible. Their world took enough away from them and now that there was a chance for them to stay somewhere safe and warm and in comfort he was reluctant to drag them across the country again while being potentially chased by the Hoshidans.

But they would be staying with the Hoshidans and while he had mentioned that he didn’t think the Hoshidans would be aggressive - if they hadn’t made that move by this point - he still wasn’t at ease with leaving anyone behind. Add on the fact that Ophelia was a princess of Nohr and he was even more uneasy. However, she would be safe as long as her identity wasn’t exposed and, from what he knew about the honor in this country, he didn’t think the Hoshidans would question the two children. Besides, Ophelia and Lutz didn’t have any information the Hoshidans didn’t already receive from Kisaragi.

He should have expected their answers though.

“I’m not staying,” Lutz immediately declared, “You can’t make me stay when you’re going! I can help!”

“Same! Besides, you wouldn’t be able to get anything done without me, Crimson Ophelia the Chosen Maiden!” Ophelia chimed.

“My shield is yours,” Ignis said solemnly. It was a part of the oath that Ignis swore to Siegbert when he pledged his services.

“I am your Royal Highness’ dutiful servant,” Dwyer drawled.

“Pack is pack. And I want to find papa,” Velour repeated. 

Sophie laughed, “Nope! I’m definitely not staying still when everyone else is out there.”

Soliel rolled her eyes. “Where you go, I go. Who else is going to keep your head straight?”

Eponine smiled, bright and sly, “I don’t think I’d fit in well here. Besides, you’re definitely going to need my expertise in breaking and entering into Nohr.”

Siegbert bowed his head and closed his eyes. It was a chorus of agreements and support. A dizzying mix of gratitude, pride, and anxiety swirled around in his chest.

"Right then. We’ll need to come up with a way to slip out from under our Hoshidan watch.” He directed everyone’s attention to their immediate problem.

“Are you sure we can’t just ask Uncle Ryouma to let us leave?” Kisaragi asked.

Siegbert took a second to think about it before shaking his head. “No, I implied it at our last meeting and his response shut that option down. I honestly don’t think they’ll leave us leave easily. Unfortunately, as for what they’ll do, I don’t know King Ryouma well enough to predict his actions. I had been thinking of him as an older Shinonome but…” He frowned; that had been a mistaken, and one that he wasn’t going to repeat.

“Shino never really got along with his dad. Uncle Ryouma was - is - more calmer and practical. Less prone to running into danger at any rate,” Kisaragi advised.

“Does he have any advisers I should be aware about?”

“I could have told you if we were back in our world, but with the changes here…” Kisaragi shrugged apologetically, “I never paid much attention to this type of thing either, sorry. I was always out and about with my dad.”

“If I was King Ryouma…” Siegbert started slowly, staring off into empty space, “I wouldn’t do anything overt with these many variables. No, instead I would–” He cut himself off abruptly, eyes widening.

“Siegbert?” Soleil prompted, concerned.

He just narrowed his eyes though and started to glare ferociously at a spot on the wall. Soleil and Dwyer exchanged looks before they quickly covered Ophelia and Lutz’s ears. And then, in the next moment, Siegbert burst into a tirade of curses.

King Ryouma had played him like a fiddle. By offering them hospitality first, the Hoshidan king had made him and the others inadvertently drop their guard. Then they were kept in one place, under watch, and under limited information. King Ryouma had been able to tell, in just one glance, that Siegbert was the type to be hesitate in acting on insufficient knowledge.

He had been kept on his back foot. Off balance. Insecure. King Ryouma had implied things that he knew would resonate with Siegbert’s insecurities. Siegbert curled his hands into fists, clenching them tightly. Had he been that easy to read? What else did he let slip?

“We need to leave. Right now,” Siegbert declared, voice strained.

“So you’ve said, but how?” Soleil pointed out.

As everyone sank into thought, a chime was suddenly heard coming from the front of the house.

“I’ll see who it is!” Kisaragi said, bounding up to his feet and exiting the room. He returned soon with a stack of _bento_ boxes.

The Hoshidans had arranged for their meals to be delivered to them by a maid, explaining that it was better if they didn’t walk through the fort openly for the time being. Siegbert wondered if King Ryouma was taking precautions for how his people would react to a group of Nohrians? Or was this just an excuse to keep them confined?

“Wait,” Dwyer said as he was separating the boxes and handing them out, “there’s not enough for us here. I don’t think they’re aware that Sophie and Velour are up yet.”

“Oh! I’ll let the maid know to get us two more! I don’t think she’ll have gone too far yet,” Kisaragi shot to his feet again.

But before he could leave, Eponine broke in, “Hold on! I think I have an idea.” The smile that spread across her face spoke only of trouble.

Everyone turned their attention to her, Siegbert included, until he felt someone grab his hand. It was Velour. She glanced at his eyes before quickly bringing his hand up to her face to rub her jaw against the inside of his wrist. A wolfskin apology.

Before she could drop her arm and release his hand though, he reversed her hold and caught her hand in his to squeeze it briefly. Acceptance.

And then they settled in to hear Eponine’s plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um... so I'm still alive, aha. I'm REALLY sorry for how long it's taken me to update this but I promise you that I haven't dropped it! I just have an inability to stop myself from taking on too many projects. Unfortunately, this chapter is a bit short and slow since we're at the part where things are being set up :') but that just means exciting things are on the horizon, r-right?


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I’ve been predominately using the Japanese version of their names, I’m using the Japanese version of the characters too.

**ACT VII.**

After Gurei woke up, the Nohrians were just as eager to quell the bandit uprising as Shinonome and his group were to find their friends, and so the army was mobilized quickly after ascertaining that the village was stable.

_“You’re certain there’s a hideout here?” Marx asked. There was a frown on his face as he looked down on the map spread out on a table in front of him._

_“Yes. I was hit in the back, not the head,” Gurei drawled._

_“But our scouts have combed through this area before and a hideout like that has never been reported,” Leon murmured._

_“Maybe your scouts just suck,” Gurei said without missing a beat. He winced a second later when Shinonome, who was beside him, stepped on his foot._

_“If you and your little band of friends are lying to us…” Camilla trailed off and fondled her axe, a glint in her eyes._

_Gurei, aware of Shinonome’s presence, kept quiet but his smile was challenging and his eyes were cold._

_“Camilla,” Marx said, censure in his voice._

_Shinonome couldn’t stop himself from glancing over at Marx and was amused to see an exasperated look on the king’s face. It seemed like he wasn’t the only one tired at having to moderate this strategy meeting._

Somehow they managed to get through the meeting and now they were heading towards the hideout that Gurei had escaped from, and where Matoi, Hisame, and Rhajat were being kept.

But there was a divide between the two groups.

Even though they were moving in the same direction and sharing a temporary goal, the Nohrians kept to one side and the small Hoshidan group kept to the other side.

If they weren’t in such a precarious state, Shinonome might have laughed at this familiar situation. This was how it was when he and his group met Siegbert and his group for the first time back in their world. Everyone had a hard time trusting the other people and so, even though they were moving together for safety in numbers, no one crossed that invisible line between them.

Until Shinonome did.

And it looked like he would have to do the same here. He wasn’t a person who enjoyed having tension between groups like this, and he had no qualms about putting himself out there. Someone had to make the first move.

Shinonome made his move during dinner, when everyone had stopped marching for the day and made camp. Instead of eating with his group at their small camp, he took his plate and moved into the Nohrian camp, winking at his friends when they looked at him in surprise.

Ignoring the various looks he was receiving from the Nohrians, he pressed further into their camp, looking for someone who seemed receptive. However, his attention was caught by a woman who was devouring plate after plate of food at a makeshift table beside a campfire. Shinonome’s mouth unconsciously dropped open as he stared; she was possibly eating more than him and he thought he ate a lot.

He made his way over to the woman and took the empty seat across from her, just barely able to see her over the tower of plates she was stacking around her.

Shinonome cleared his throat, “That’s… a lot of food.”

There was no response. She seemed to completely ignore him as she continued to chow down on her food.

He didn’t mind though and took this time to examine her. Dainty features, green eyes, and pale blonde hair. But the most noticeable thing was the dissonance between her petite size and the amount of food she was consuming as well as the heavy armor she was wearing. Her equipment looked a lot like what Ignis wore and he knew, from experience, how heavy it was. If she hadn’t been wearing that heavy armor, he could easily imagine himself mistaking her as a simple village girl.

At the same time he finished his examination, she finished her last plate of food and placed it on top of her stack before looking around with a disappointed expression. Her eyes lit up though when she noticed Shinonome’s plate, which he had placed absently on the table when he came over, and with one hand she easily lifted and set aside her stack of twelve plates while reaching for his plate with her other hand.

Shinonome was used to voracious eaters though and quickly pulled his plate towards himself. “Woah, woah, that’s mine.”

“Oh…” she said, disappointed, before she actually seemed to see him; she looked surprised to see a Hoshidan, “… who are you?”

“I’m Shinonome.”

Whatever he expected, whether that was acknowledgement or recognition, he received neither. Instead, the woman just responded with, “Oh… I’m Elfi.” And then lost all interest in him as she looked around.

“Uhm… are you still hungry?” Shinonome asked, astonished.

“… I train a lot.”

An idea started to grow in his mind.

“Hey, want to arm wrestle?”

“… No… I’m hungry,” Elfi declined quietly.

“Hold on, I wasn’t done. Let’s arm wrestle and I’ll give you my portion if you win.”

Shinonome grinned when she turned her attention back to him and scrutinized him.

“Really?”

“Yep.”

“… Okay,” Elfi nodded decisively and then placed her arm on the table without delay.

Shinonome was momentarily taken aback by her lack of hesitation, but he regained his grin and followed her example, placing his arm on the table. They clasped their hands and, on a count of three, started their game.

There was no movement.

He wasn’t gaining any ground, but she wasn’t either. They were evenly matched, but Shinonome was only slightly surprised at that. He had noticed earlier the ease at which she moved her stack of plates and her relaxed posture despite being in such heavy armor.

And then, before he knew it, there was a crowd of Nohrian soldiers around him and Elfi, drawn by the unusual sight of a Hoshidan and Nohrian together. The soldiers even started placing bets and commenting with surprise on how long he was lasting. To be honest, Elfi was stronger than him but he was intimately familiar with this game and tricks on how to hold his own against people larger or stronger than him.

Elfi frowned, a look of puzzlement on her face as she put more strength into her hand only to be matched by Shinonome pressing back with the same amount of force. When she glanced at him, Shinonome made sure to give her a relaxed smile. Arm wrestling wasn’t just a physical game, there were mental elements involved as well.

It only took another minute before Elfi started to tire, most likely because she wasn’t used to keeping her arm in this posture for long periods of time. In any case, Shinonome started to push her hand down much to everyone’s shock.

“No way, I can’t believe this scrawny kid is stronger than Elfi!”

“I don’t believe it. Hey, Hoshidan, I want to challenge you next!”

Shinonome pressed Elfi’s hand down against the table, keeping it there for another second to ensure his decisive victory, before he released her and shook out his arm.

“You’re strong,” he complimented her.

“… Again,” Elfi declared. Her words were quiet but there was a competitive tone in her voice.

Shinonome grinned, “Arm wrestling is a talent of mine. Let me give you some tips and we’ll make it best of three.”

And, like that, the divide between the two groups closed.

**—**

Within the next day, Shinonome could see his friends around the Nohrian camp; their own little camp had already merged with the larger army camp. The Nohrians also seemed to be relaxing more around them.

Foleo spent most of his time discussing fabric and clothes with his aunt, Elise. And if he was avoiding his father, no one mentioned it.

Mitama still spent her time napping, but at least she napped in the Nohrian camp. At one point, Shinonome had found her being bothered by a familiar-looking man. It was when he pulled the man away, afraid of what curses Mitama would put on him for disturbing her sleep, that he recognized the man as Lasward, one of King Marx’s retainers. And then Mitama cracked an eye open and told them with a smirk that she would have been interested in Lasward, but only if he had been a girl. There was only one person Shinonome knew who fit that descrip–… no, no, he wasn’t going to think about that.

Midoriko collected herbs, most likely for future emergencies, but she was also exchanging recipes with the Nohrians. He was surprised they were willing to share but perhaps when they saw how open Midoriko was with her own recipes, they reciprocated. Midoriko had a genuineness that made it hard for anyone to dislike her or suspect of her of anything.

Shigure and Kanna continued to keep to themselves on the outskirts of the Nohrian camp, but Shinonome didn’t fault them for that. It was better to keep Kanna’s surroundings calm until they could figure out a solution to her condition.

Kinu spent her time around the wyverns and, surprisingly, was getting along with Camilla. The mere thought scared Shinonome and adding the red eyes that the wyverns had meant that he rarely went to that side of the camp. He still remembered that final fight on the cliff back in their world.

As for Gurei…

Shinonome walked around the Nohrian camp, checking in and making a mental note on where all his friends were, when he was suddenly grabbed by the arm and yanked behind some tents.

He reacted by instinct and grabbed the hand on his shoulder with his other hand, before he raised his arm and twisted, intending to stretch out his attacker’s arm before dropping his own and breaking it. But the other person seemed to predict that and countered by following into him and grabbing his raised arm.

“Calm down, it’s just me!” Gurei hissed.

Shinonome froze, “Gurei! Don’t startle me like that!”

Gurei released Shinonome after feeling him relax.

“You were about to walk right into Zero and Odin again.”

Shinonome flinched visibly at his words, “Ugh… thanks.”

“I’ve got your back, partner. Mind telling me how you got these two stalkers though?”

Ever since the time Shinonome literally walked into Zero, and Odin made that comment about him feeling odd and familiar, the two were intent on following him around to observe him and, if they could, corner him and question him.

Most of the time he found excuses to avoid them, but other times he had to come up with vague answers. No, he didn’t know why Odin felt that he was familiar since he had never seen Odin before. No, he didn’t remember how he and his friends entered Nohrian territory. He was separated from his friends during an attack. No, he didn’t remember who attacked them. It was obvious to everyone that his answers weren’t the truth, but there wasn’t much they could do about it either. Except, apparently, following him until he gave up.

“I’m not sure. Odin is under the impression that I feel familiar somehow. But I swear if I get leered at by Zero one more time…” Shinonome grumbled.

“What? Not a fan of outlaws?” Gurei waggled his eyebrows.

“No!” Shinonome scrunched up his nose, “And, ugh, save that for Sophie.”

Gurei dropped his playful act and sighed, “I miss Fumbles and the others.”

Shinonome hummed in agreement and grabbed the other’s shoulder in commiseration. He knew the ninja was sweet on the klutzy cavalier, and he couldn’t imagine what Gurei was going through being separated like this. Although, if it felt anything like the heavy ball of anxiety and agitation in him then maybe he could understand just a little.

“Shinonome.”

It was rare for Gurei to call him by his full name and Shinonome pulled himself away from his thoughts to focus on Gurei’s serious expression.

“They’re going to be okay, right?”

“… Yeah,” his voice was rough, “And we’ll find them.”

Suddenly, a commotion arose in the camp and they could hear raised voices. It seemed like the forward scouts had returned, bearing news about the bandit hideout.

**—**

Every person had their own way of readying themselves for an upcoming battle. Some meditated. Some went through equipment checks. Some acted as if it were any other day.

For Shinonome, he liked to find a quiet place to pace. There was always a surge of tension through his entire body when he knew he was going into battle. It was followed by a tingling in his feet and hands, and a growing sense of restlessness. 

When he was young, his dad tried to teach him to sit still and to calm his energy before any battles (even practice matches had this effect on him), but Shinonome would inevitably start to fidget, bounce his leg, or rock on his feet. He still remembered the look of disappointment on his dad’s face whenever that happened…

Shinonome shook his head and scrubbed his hands roughly through his hair, dislodging his memories and mussing his hair, as he picked his way through the underbrush to a small clearing beside the camp.

He and Gurei had been called to another strategy meeting after the forward scouts returned. It was decided that they would make camp for the rest of the day because marching any further meant they would reach the hideout at the dead of night, a time when the bandits would be at their most cautious.

The plan was to break camp some time before dawn and make it to the hideout as the sun rose, providing as much light as was possible in Nohr. They would split their forces to surround the hideout. Marx would engage from the front, Leon would cover the west side, Camilla would follow Leon but go even further to cover the back, and Elise would cover the east side, which was close to a mountain and had a low chance of being used as an escape route.

A heated discussion had occurred about where Shinonome and his group were to be. Camilla had suggested that children should remain behind, prompting Gurei to retort that it was likely he had killed more people than her. The two had nearly come to blows. Meanwhile, Shinonome flat-out refused to split his group up.

In the end, it was decided that Shinonome and his group were to follow Leon. He could see how they came to that conclusion. The Nohrian royals weren’t sure how dangerous they were and so it was too risky to keep them with Marx, when he was already occupied with attaching the hideout straight on. Elise was obviously not an option. Neither was Camilla and her wyvern riders.

After the meeting, Gurei had pulled Shinonome aside and pointed out a clearing he had found earlier, knowing Shinonome’s habits. Which was how Shinonome found himself coming out of the woods and into a small space.

Shinonome stood in the middle of the clearing and breathed in deeply, clenching and unclenching his hands. But the restlessness grew again and he soon found himself mapping out the clearing with his feet, pacing in circles.

Forcing himself to stop in the center again, he looked up at the barely visible stars. For some reason nostalgia wrenched at him. How long had it been since he had seen the stars? Long enough that he shouldn’t be bothered by the sight of the stars hidden behind an overcast sky. The sky in their world had been perpetually covered in burning clouds and ash.

And yet… and yet…

Knowing that somewhere, beyond the Bottomless Canyon, there was a land of green with skies that would be glittering right now with stars made him _yearn_. Yearn for… for… for what?

Shinonome rubbed at his chest, right above his heart. It felt like his restlessness was being sucked into the ball of worry that sat heavily in him, and the refrain in his mind telling him to find the others quickened. He could hear the beat of his heart thudding in time to this refrain. Quickly, quickly, quickly.

He breathed out shakily and, trying to find something to distract himself from his maddening feelings, pulled Siegfried out of its scabbard. He wasn’t foolish enough to tire himself with _katas_ before a battle (though he was tempted), but just holding onto the sword calmed him a little.

As Shinonome stared into its dark blade, he found himself murmuring, “Where are you, Siegbert?”

“That is not the blade’s name.”

Shinonome startled upon hearing a voice behind him and whirled around, raising the sword in his hand to point it at the King of Nohr, Marx.

“Peace. I apologize for startling you,” Marx stated calmly. His hands were at his sides and he didn’t seem perturbed by Shinonome pointing a blade at him.

“No! I’m sorry I should have been more aware,” Shinonome hastily lowered Siegfried and sheathed it. “Um, what did you say earlier?”

“I said that Siegbert is not that blade’s name.”

“Oh, yeah, I know that. It’s Siegfried.”

Marx raised an eyebrow as he walked up to Shinonome.

Shinonome coughed, “I mean, yes, that’s what I said. I said Siegfried. Not Siegbert. You misheard.” He snapped his mouth shut with a clack when he realized he was babbling.

Blessedly, Marx changed the subject. “May I ask how you acquired that blade?”

“… A friend gave it to me.” Not exactly the truth, but it wasn’t a lie either.

“A friend…” Marx echoed, “… by the name of Siegbert?”

Shinonome hesitated for an instant but he couldn’t see the harm in divulging a name. “… Yes.”

“Interesting how your friend has a name that has been held for Nohrian royalty.”

Shinonome paled and he felt his face stretch stiffly as he tried to smile. “Wow, funny that.”

His mind was racing. Did he admit that Siegbert was royalty? That would point out that Siegbert was Marx’s son though, right? But did it even matter? Wait, wasn’t his unnatural reaction an answer in and of itself?

Marx smiled slowly, “That was a joke.”

Shinonome stared up at Marx. There was a beat of silence. And then he blurted out, “I’m not talking to you anymore.”

As he turned around and started to walk briskly back to camp, he heard a laugh from behind him and he couldn’t stop his own smile from appearing. In a world where everything had gone topsy-turvy, it was strange to find pockets of familiarity like this. Siegbert and his father shared the same laugh.

Unbeknownst to him, Shinonome had completely forgotten his earlier restlessness.


End file.
